TIRUPATTUR: For a homemaker, Rs 5.6 crore is a lot of money. The 22-year-old R Vanmathi, daughter of a beedi worker, got the shock of her life when she visited her parents at Chikkanankuppam village near Vaniyambadi last month, as there was a notice from the registration and commercial taxes department waiting for her.
The parents of Vanmathi - Raja, a beedi worker, and mother Kavitha, an MGNREGA worker - were not able to make sense of the notice, bearing the sender’s address as ‘Integrated building for both registration and commercial tax department, 7th floor, Room No. 707, office of the deputy commissioner (ST), South-I, Chennai, 600035’, stating their daughter have to pay Rs 5,62,11,766 (Rs 43,63,706 towards commercial tax arrears accrued in 2020-21 and Rs 5,18,48,060 in 2021-22).
Speaking to TNIE, Kavitha said they had received a similar notice some seven months ago. Initially, they dismissed it, thinking it was meant for someone else. But when they received the second notice on January 13, they panicked as they thought it was something serious. They approached the Vaniyambadi tax office, and the officers directed them to Chennai for further enquiries.
Asked why they haven’t approached the police, Kavitha said their financial situation is forcing them to postpone the visit to the office of the superintendent of police in Tirupattur. “If we have to go to the SP office in Tirupattur to submit petition, we have to borrow money from the neighbours,” she said.
When contacted, Deputy Commercial Tax Officer in Vaniyambadi confirmed the family had come to her office. However, she refused to comment on the issue further, saying she would bring the issue to the attention of the higher officials.
A Commercial Taxes department official said the episode is part of bill trading. Bill traders are those who indulge in the practice of issuing fake invoices to claim input tax credits. Talking about the modus operandi, the official said the girl’s rental agreement could have been used to generate a GSTIN for bill trading. “It is learnt as of late, the state has been saying many such cases and the intelligence wing is trying to put an end to such practices,” he added.
(With inputs from C Shivakumar @ Chennai)