‘Burglary’ at Bandra Income Tax office, but files safe

MUMBAI: Asuspected burglary at the Income Tax office in the business district of Bandra has sent panic waves among senior officials after officials found out last week that the lock of a cupboard in the office was tampered with.

The initial apprehension was that files could have been taken away by miscreants. However, NP Singh, Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Mumbai, told ET:“I have asked my officers to probe and find out about the missing files. They reported to me that all the files are intact.”

Singh said that he had called for details of the inventory and that a police complaint has been filed. This is not the first time the Income Tax department has been caught in an embarrassing situation.

Three years ago, it was embroiled in a controversy over issuing bogus refunds of Rs 15 crore. A probe later revealed that most refunds were issued in bogus names and the addresses given were of people who lived in slums and had never filed income-tax returns.

The investigation showed that some people had hacked the computers of the department to siphon off funds, under the cover of refunds.