Mumbai: Former Chief Secretary and adviser to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Ajoy Mehta’s 1,076sq ft flat deal at Nariman Point has come under the scanner of the Income Tax department’s benami section, with the latter serving a show-cause notice to Anamitra Properties Pvt Ltd, which is the seller of the said property.
However, Mehta, who is MahaRERA chairman since February this year, told The Free Press Journal, “I have purchased the flat through my own savings and fixed deposits. I have paid the market rate. There is a legal agreement in place. I am a taxpayer and I don’t know about what has appeared in a section of press.” He further said he has been staying in the flat and had not received any communication from the income tax department.
The show-cause notice has been served on July 7 to the company as per Section 24 (1) of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transaction (PBPT) Act. The said section pertains to notice and attachment of properties involved in benami transactions.
The department has noted that it has sufficient information against the Anamitra Properties to conduct an inquiry.
According to sources, the company from which the property was bought has two shareholders and incidentally, both are residents of a chawl in Mumbai. Sources said the company was created only for the purpose of acquiring this property. The balance sheet of the company shows several discrepancies and the shareholders do not pay taxes, which clearly indicates that the flat was bought by Mehta last year for Rs 5.33 crore from the alleged shell company named Anamitra Properties Pvt Ltd. Sources said the said property was acquired by Anamitra Properties Pvt Ltd in 2009 for Rs 4 crore.
The shareholder, Kamesh Nathuni Singh, who virtually owns 99 per cent of the company’s shares is a non-filer of income-tax returns. His address is: Shyam Narayan Yadav Chawl on Western Express Highway near Oberoi Mall in Mumbai. The second shareholder, Dipesh Ravindra Singh, has only once filed a tax return for 2020-21, showing an income of Rs 1,71,002. The records show that the shareholders are people with low income and have no capacity to purchase properties worth crores.
The duo, in their statements, have submitted that the shareholders were not aware about the company Anamitra Properties. They have also denied holding or purchasing any shares of the said company.
