A 34-year-old Bengaluru cowherd earning about Rs 2,000 a month had the shock of his life when he was issued a Rs 40-lakh notice to pay Goods and Services Tax (GST) for carrying out a transaction of Rs 2 crore in his bank account.
E Muniraju, from Chokkanahalli village in Bagalur, north Bengaluru, makes a living by grazing cattle and selling milk. After a few visits to the offices of his bank branch and the state commercial taxes department that administers GST, he realized that there had, indeed, been a huge transaction in his account and it was a fraud perpetrated on him by a family friend.
Muniraju has filed a complaint with Bagalur police against family friend Zansi, a resident of Lingarajapuram who had taken copies of his PAN card, Aadhaar and bank account details on the pretext of getting him a ‘cow loan’ from the government.
According to police, the notice to Muniraju was issued by the additional commissioner of commercial tax (enforcement), department of commercial taxes, government of Karnataka.
The cowherd told TOI that he and his wife wanted to buy a cow so that he could start a business. In April, Zansi, a friend of Muniraju’s mother, assured him of getting ‘cow loan’ from the government. Zansi is a vegetable vendor and her husband a businessman.
“Zansi and my mother know each other for years. My mother sells vegetables in Lingarajapuram. Zansi asked me to hand over photocopies of my PAN and Aadhaar cards. Also, she asked for photocopies of my wife’s PAN and Aadhaar. My wife and I have a joint account in a bank with its branch in Bagalur and gave her a photocopy of the passbook,” he said. Some months later, Zansi told Muniraju that the loan work “is going on” and he will receive a one-time password (OTP) on his mobile and he should share the same with her.
“Accordingly, the OTP came on August 20, and I shared it with Zansi. However, I did not get any loan from the government. Later, I called Zansi. She said my loan application has been rejected. On October 12, an official from the commercial tax department called me on my mobile saying there was a transaction of Rs 2 crore in my bank account towards which I had not paid any GST. Therefore, I’m supposed to pay a tax of Rs 40 lakh. I was shocked. I explained to the officer over phone that I’m a cowherd and earn a few thousands of rupees monthly. Also, I told him I was not aware of GST or any other kind of tax and I had not paid any tax in my life,” Muniraju, who has a below-poverty-line ration card, said.
Bank officials summoned Muniraju and showed him the notice sent by the commercial tax department to him through the bank. The officials, aware of Muniraju’s financial status, asked him whether he had shared his bank account details with anyone. That’s when Muniraju revealed the cow-loan story.
As directed by officials, Muniraju visited the commercial tax department’s office in Koramangala in October last week. “They took my statement that I have not carried transaction of Rs 2 crore in my account,” he said.
Later, Muniraju filed a complaint with Bagalur police, accusing Zansi, her husband and others of cheating him. A police officer said they will visit the GST office to collect documents on Monday. Cops said Zansi’s mobile number is switched off. Cops have registered a case against Zansi and others under IPC for breach of trust, cheating, personation and dishonesty.