Govt demands Rs 50 cr from Tivoli Garden

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government’s value-added tax department has served a demand notice of about Rs 50 crore on Tivoli Garden Resorts for suppression of actual sales.

The notice comes at a time when urban development minister Raj Kumar Chauhan is facing the heat of the Lokayukta directive, seeking his removal for trying to influence a tax raid at the office of the resort last year.

The VAT department, after assessing the documents of Tivoli Resorts, has served a demand notice of Rs 30 crore. In addition, penalty and interest have also been charged, which takes up the total amount to approximately Rs 50 crore. The total amount thus adds up to about Rs 50 crores.

It is estimated that the gross turnover of Tivoli was about Rs 320 crore, but the owners declared much less. The VAT department had ordered a raid last year and seized documents. An audit was on ever since, which has concluded now, said sources.

Earlier, Raj Kumar Chauhan came under fire of the Lokayukta for trying to influence the raid process by making a call to commissioner Jalal Shrivastava. But he has been constantly asserting that he had not influenced the raid as Shrivastava did not stop the raid despite his call.