Mumbai businessman duped of Rs 31 lakh by 'tax consultants'

MUMBAI: A 56-year-old businessman from Goregaon has lodged a police complaint against two tax consultants for cheating him to the tune of Rs 31 lakh.The complainant runs a fabrication business. His friend's firm had hired one of the accused as a tax consultant since 2016.

The complainant trusted him and hired him in 2018. The accused's older brother would assist him at their workplace.

They handled GST and tax related matters for the complainant.In 2019-2020, the complainant could not pay tax-related dues to the global Covid outbreak. After he narrated this to the accused, they offered to pay the dues on his behalf. They accepted a sum of Rs 27.8 lakh from him. But in May 2023, the complainant received a notice from the GST department about his dues not being paid.

He was asked to pay the principal, plus interest and a penalty.

Then in Feb 2024, he received another notice from the GST department which stated that GST hadn't been paid for 2020-2021 either. The notice directed that the principal, interest and a penalty be paid. Lastly, in Aug 2023, the complainant received a show cause notice from the Income Tax department for not paying tax over business profits.The complainant confronted one of the accused who assured him that the matter would be settled and he was only required to pay Rs 1 lakh. The complainant paid the money but the accused switched off his phone thereafter. His brother subsequently claimed that he had gone missing.The complainant finally approached the Goregaon police and lodged a complaint that the accused had taken Rs 27.8 lakh which they never used for paying GST and income tax on his behalf and he had to pay Rs 3.29 lakh in penalties as a result.