Diamantaire and PNB scam accused Mehul Choksi has surrendered his Indian passport to Antigua, apparently to avoid extradition to India, where he is wanted for loan fraud. Choksi, 59, has also submitted $177 with his passport (Z-3396732) to the Indian High Commission in Antigua. The move comes after the foreign ministry had said that the jeweller could not have dual citizenship. He has now given his new address as Jolly Harbour Marks Antigua, officials said. Antigua is hearing India's case for the businessman's extradition. Choksi, the chairman of the Gitanjali Group who has taken refuge in Antigua, is one of the prime accused in the £1.35 billion Punjab National Bank fraud along with his nephew Nirav Modi. The ED in October had attached both their assets in India and abroad worth £21.8 million. Both left India in the first week of January, weeks before the scam was reported to the CBI. The Interpol has issued a red corner notice (RCN) against Choksi after a request from the investigating agency.
Dutch companies ink five MoUs
Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani welcomed representatives of the Netherlands, to discuss India-Netherlands ties in the technology sector, to help realise the Kalpsar Yojana and development of the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR). Rupani further proposed collaboration in port development, the maritime sector, and drainage, and praised the innovations of the Netherlands. A total of 10 MoUs will be signed by the delegation, comprising some 45 companies, of which five have already been signed, said Menno Snel, the Dutch minister of trade for taxation and customs. Menno Snel, expressed keen interest in investing in sectors such as agriculture, energy and manufacturing, in Gujarat, Rupani said. “Two companies have signed MoUs in the mobility management and waste to energy sector, with the Vadodara Municipal Corporation. Philips India Ltd signed an MoU with the government of Gujarat to develop a robust healthcare delivery system in diagnostics,” said Amlan Bora, commissioner of trade and investment at the Netherlands Business Support Office (NBSO) in Ahmedabad. The state government also signed MoUs with Dutch companies relating to protected cultivation and saline farming.
RIL net rises 9.95%, revenue climbs on higher volume, realisation
Reliance Industries (RIL) third quarter consolidated net profit rose 9.95% to £1.04 billion. The higher profit came despite refinery margins falling to $8.8 per barrel during the quarter compared with $11.6 in the year-earlier period. Retail and telecom businesses contributed 25% of the consolidated EBITDA. The profit during the quarter was reported on a 55.43% increase in total income to £6.27 billion primarily on account of higher price realisations and volumes for petrochemical and refining businesses along with continuing strong growth momentum in consumer businesses. Commenting on the results, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said, “In our endeavour to consistently create more value for our country and stakeholders, our company has become the first Indian private sector corporate to cross £1 billion quarterly profit milestone.
India's I-T dept chases tax payers to recover £500 mn
The income tax department in India has come across several cases where tax payers have taken credit for payment of “self-assessment tax” without actually clearing the dues, resulting in arrears of around £500 million. The non-payment has resulted in the department being unable to process income tax returns for the last financial year with authorities now approaching the assessees to immediately pay up, officials said. “We are sending reminders at the moment, requesting them to clear the dues so that the tax returns can be processed,” said an official. Sources in the department said that several of these tax payers had claimed that they would pay self-assessment tax, which has not been paid. Tax experts were, however, not clear about how the payments were not made, pointing out that there was a well-establishment system of checks and balances to prevent possible misuse of the facility.
