The Income-Tax department has sent a notice to Hasan Ali Khan under Section 276 C of the I-T Act,1961 which,officials say,will also help the Enforcement Directorate (ED) strengthen its case against the alleged tax evader. The ED has been receiving flak for not being able to nail Ali and was recently denied his custody by a Mumbai court. According to I-T officials,the notice gives15 days time to Ali to explain why criminal action should not be initiated against him. According to the department,the prosecution notice is based on the assessment of tax liability between 2001-02 and 2007-08 during which Ali and his associates are learnt to have substantial income from various sources but never paid any taxes. During the raids carried out last year,we have seized several documents which pegged the tax liability of Ali and his associates to be more than Rs 50,000 crore. The I-T department has levied an interest of Rs 24,500 crore on the unpaid tax amount, said an I-T official. According to the Section 276 C of the I-T Act,1961 (wilful attempt to evade tax),where the liability exceeds one hundred thousand rupees,the person is likely to be sentenced with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to seven years and with fine. According to the latest status of tax liability by the department,Alis tax demand stands at Rs 36,935.57 crore while that of his wife Rheema Hasan Ali is Rs 17.88 crore. The department had last year prosecuted Ali for concealment of his income under Section of 271 1 (c).
