BJP,Congress, Rahul Gandhi, Narendra Modi, India,
In a bizarre letter to BJP, the Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) has demanded the party should pay the service tax on collection from ticket selling of rallies addressed by its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Directorate General of Ludhiana wing sent a letter to BJP’s Chandigarh unit and asked them to submit the details of amounts collected and how much service tax have been paid, since July, 2012.
“Recently it was in news that Bhartiya Janta Party has collected amount by way of tickets for entry to the rally at different places in India where Mr. Narendra Modi had addressed the public at large,” the notice says.
“As the entry tickets to the event were not for any admission to entertainment event or access to amusement facilities (which are in the negative list), the same is taxable in the hands of person collecting the amount on tickets. It appears that the BJP/Shri Narendra Modi has neither got registered under the Service tax nor paid tax on collection from tickets,” is says.
Reacting to the notice, BJP leader Arun Jaitley said, “Considering the crowds who gather to listen to Modi, this can be FM’s faint hope of augmenting his otherwise depleting revenue.”
“Obviously, there are no tickets for Narendra Modi’s rallies. Either at the rallies or elsewhere in the country, the BJP has launched a massive fund collection campaign. Our effort is to reach 10 crores households for fund collection,” Jaitley clarifies.
“The Directorate General of Central Excise and Intelligence appears to be believing that the BJP/Narendra Modi renders service to those who come to attend Narendra Modi’s rallies. They believe that Mr. Modi’s rally is neither ‘entertainment event nor access to amusement facilities hence they are liable to levy of service tax,” Jaitley added.
“There is no doubt that the UPA government has taken leave of all its senses. I hope the people realize the extent of desperation to the extent the Congress has stooped to. If this is how the principal opposition party or its Prime Ministerial candidate can be harassed, the extent of plight of common taxpayers in the country can be easily understood,” Jaitley slammed.
