Shock for Congress in DK, 7 defeated MLAs suspect EVM tampering; BJP in awe

Bengaluru, Apr 21: An FIR has been filed against a Kannada TV anchor allegedly for organising a guest packed wedding at a resort near Bengaluru last week amid lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Police got the tip-off about the event held on April 18 by locals residing near the resort. Around 20 people were present there to attend the wedding.

The FIR has been filed under National Disaster Management Act (NDMA) and Section 188 and 269 of the Indian Penal Code.

Bengaluru, Jun 26: Karnataka's Commercial Taxes Department has sealed off an undeclared warehouse with imported goods worth Rs 4 crore in Bengaluru and found 60 GST registrations linked to a Chinese national from Wuhan.

The tax department officials found 25,446 China-made electronic and fast-moving consumer goods worth Rs 4 crore stored in the warehouse which was not declared to the tax authorities.

Commissioner of Commercial Taxes MS Srikar said in a statement that the officers noticed that one person from Wuhan City, China, got the premises in Bengaluru on lease.

They also found that about 60 registrations (both central and state jurisdictions) under the GST Act, in the name of a number of persons for online trading of imported China-made goods, had a single address which was vacant.

Most of the registrations were found irregular in the filing of returns and payment of tax. Majority of the firms either filed nil returns or were non-filers. The registration data showed that one business was registered in 2017-18, 43 in 2018-19, 14 in 2019-20 and two in 2020-21. Most of the 60 firms were private limited companies and 24 persons were interchangeably directors in 58 firms.

At the time of raid, neither the lessee, the Chinese national, nor any of the other 59 registered taxable persons were available at the business premises and no one came forward to participate in the proceedings in spite of providing sufficient time.

It is learnt that the Chinese national is operating the business from Wuhan City since January 2020 with the assistance of some of his agents/employees in Bengaluru.

It has also been learnt that multiple registrations are being taken for a better rating on e-commerce platforms, Srikar said.

The raids were led by Nitesh K Patil, Additional Commissioner, Enforcement, South Zone.
The Commercial Taxes Department is closely watching the genuineness of newly registered persons and conducting post-registration verification visits.

Any registration taken with mala fide intention of evading taxes will be dealt with seriously, the Commissioner said. 

Bengaluru, Jan 26: BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel has been served with a court notice asking him to personally appear before the special court for people’s representatives on February 24, in connection with a defamation suit filed by Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad.

Rizwan had lodged the defamation suit against Kateel and state BJP social media chief after the party, in a tweet during the 2019 Lok Sabha election, alleged Rizwan’s involvement in the manufacture of fake voter identity cards.

Apart from Kateel, head of the party’s social media unit has also been asked to appear in person at the above court on February 24.