CONGRESS MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira has written to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, urging him to order an inquiry into a “tax evasion scam” of over Rs 44,000 crore. However, Principal Secretary (Home Affairs) Anurag Verma refuted the allegations as baseless.

In the letter to the CM, the Bholath MLA sought to bring to his notice a “massive scam” of about Rs 44,000 crore related to goods that arrived in Punjab from 2009 to 2012 and said this was brought to his knowledge by former Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner Y S Matta.

Khaira said for the goods, which were brought to Punjab, the due value added tax was not paid by some unscrupulous dealers. Khaira said Matta had information that unscrupulous tax evading dealers of Punjab were importing goods worth crores of rupees through containers at Dhandari Kalan dry port in Ludhiana.

He claimed that Matta had even shared this information with the then excise and taxation commissioner (ETC) Anurag Verma, who is now the principal secretary.

Matta was asked to share this information to the director, economic intelligence unit (EIU)-cum-director enforcement, said Khaira.

However, he said that the EIU was supposed to tally the data of imports with the returns of the dealers of Punjab and where the import data did not tally with the returns. Khaira demanded that in view of the alleged loot of VAT, an inquiry by the Comptroller Auditor General of India be ordered.