Kaya, Talwalkars get summons for service tax evasion

Tax summons have been sent to several health and wellness companies for possible case of service tax evasion, reports CNBC-TV18's Aastha Maheshwari.

Around 25 companies have been issued tax summons on possible cases of service tax evasion. The department has been saying that some of these companies, some of these health and fitness companies have been collecting the service tax money, but have not been depositing, while some of the other companies have not collected service tax amount at all since 2010 onwards. Thus the department has issued tax summons seeking details and clarifications on some of the businesses that these companies operate in. Also Read: Service tax refund norms simplified for SEZs
Some of the companies we understand are Kaya, which is a subsidiary of Marico and specializes in skin care also. Talwalkars is also one of the companies that is being investigated at this point of time.
Talking about case specifics, an audit was conducted on Kaya six months back and the investigations revealed that there could be possible cases of under valuation of service tax. Thus these tax summons have been issued, although no conclusion has been sought as yet.
Kaya acknowledged receiving a communication from the service tax department seeking some information and clarifications. They are in the process of responding to the department.