The Mamata Banerjee led West Bengal government has created its own version of the Revenue Intelligence and Enforcement Directorate to get away with the central government’s law enforcement agencies. These organizations will work parallel to central government agencies and probe tax evasion cases. “the indirect tax administration of the state to counter revenue leakage and tax evasion through intensive and broad based investigation,” said a government order dated February 12. “The new Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Enforcement (DRI & ED) under the Finance Department for a comprehensive approach for investigation and enforcement of tax laws for tackling the menace of tax evasion and leakage of state revenue in a more efficient and effective manner,” added the notification.
The newly created DRI & ED will enforce the acts administered by the Directorate of Commercial Taxes, Directorate of Excise, Directorate of Registration and Stamp Revenue and Directorate of State Lotteries. The organization is also given the power to investigate its own cases as well as the cases refereed by the state government and other revenue directorates. The DRI & ED will look after the cases registered under the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017; the West Bengal Value Added Tax Act, 2003; the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994; the West Bengal State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1979 and six other acts.
Directorates of Revenue Intelligence (DRI & ED), a central government agency run by officers of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) looks after the cases of indirect taxation while the Directorate of Enforcement is a law enforcement agency, responsible for fighting financial crimes and is part of the Revenue Department of the Ministry of Finance. With these organizations out of the picture, Mamata could save her political allies and leaders of her party who were involvement in the Saradha group financial scandal was exposed by the Narada sting operation carried out by Mathew Samuel.
The CM of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has many solid reasons to ban ED and CBI from her doorsteps. Many high ranking politicians in the Trinamool Congress were found accepting cash-bribes in exchange for providing unofficial favors for a company in the Narada sting operation carried out by Mathew Samuel. TMC MPs found to be involved in the case are Saugata Roy, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Prasun Bannerjee, Suvendu Adhikari and Sultan Ahmad. The state ministers– Madan Mitra, Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim and Iqbal Ahmed, the-then deputy mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, were also found to be involved in the scam. The case is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and a parliamentary ethics committee.
Leaders of the TMC were also found to be involved in the Saradha group financial scandal. The scandal involved 200 companies and as many as 17 lakh people were cheated in the state of West Bengal and neighboring states in Eastern India. The scandal is being investigated by the CBI, the topmost leadership of the TMC was found to be involved in the scam including two former Rajya Sabha members- Kunal Ghosh and Srinjoy Ghosh. Another top leader of TMC, Madan Mitra, former minister of sports and transport, was found to be involved in the scam. The leadership of TMC has used state machinery for personal financial gains and therefore it is obvious that Mamata Banerjee would like to shut the doors for the CBI. Therefore, it is evident that the withdrawal of consent for CBI investigations by Mamata Banerjee and Chandrababu Naidu is a step taken in order to protect their top leaders.
