CBI registers case against six, including five Hyderabad-based income tax officials

Hyderabad: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against six individuals, including five Hyderabad-based officials of the Income Tax Department—two Income Tax Inspectors and three Senior Tax Assistants. The accused officials include a Senior Tax Assistant from the Office of the Commissioner of Income Tax (CIT) (DR)-II, B. Bench, ITAT, Hyderabad; a Senior Tax Assistant from the Office of the Income Tax Officer (ITO), Ward 12(1), Aayakar Bhawan, Hyderabad; and a Senior Tax Assistant from the Office of the Principal CIT (AU-4), Kondapur, Hyderabad. The sixth accused is a private individual, a Chartered Accountant (CA). The case involves allegations that the accused public servants, in collusion with each other, defrauded income tax assessees and obtained undue advantages for themselves.

They allegedly misused data circulated by the Income Tax Department regarding taxpayers who had claimed high income tax refunds, which was meant for issuing notices to initiate inquiries. Instead, the accused officials used this data to contact the assessees by phone and threaten them with hefty penalties.

Furthermore, they allegedly obtained undue financial benefits by funneling money into the bank account of the accused Chartered Accountant, who then transferred the funds to their accounts.