Govt cracks down on cos filing false data

NEW DELHI: Companies that provide wrong production, pricing and capacity details to the government in a bid to manipulate the advance tax payouts , will now face penal action.

The ministry of statistics and programme implementation will crosscheck the submitted data. ���There have been instances of major revisions of data ��� typically in production , price and capacity ��� provided by companies for the same period. There could be various reasons, including intentional fudging of the data to manipulate the advance tax to be paid,��� India���s chief statistician Pronab Sen said.

The Collection of Statistics Bill 2008, passed by Parliament last month, stipulates a prison term up to six months for data manipulation by a company. The bill is awaiting presidential approval.

���Whoever willfully makes any false or misleading statement or material omission in any information schedule or return filled in or supplied , shall be punishable with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months,��� the bill stated. The legislation provides for a statistics officer, or any person authorised by him, to inspect documents , take copies and ask the relevant questions. The bill also sets a prison term, extending up to six months, for destroying or mutilating any information.

The original draft bill did not moot a prison term for providing false information . This provision was, however , incorporated on the recommendations of a parliamentary standing committee.

The bill will empower government agencies, municipal corporations and Panchayati Raj institutions to gather statistics on economic, demographic , social, scientific and environmental aspects.