IT department makes Rs570-crore tax claim on Mahindra Satyam

The income tax department has demanded that Mahindra Satyam pay up about Rs570 crore for fraudently claiming tax credit on its (then Satyam Computer Services) fictitious income between 2003-04 and 2008-09.

The news comes at a time when Tech Mahindra, the current owner of Satyam Computer Services, is trying to get the software firm out of a nearly Rs10,000-crore scam.

"We have asked the company to pay about Rs570 crore as tax, as the company claimed the credit on tax which it did not pay overseas," reports quoting I-T officials as saying.

The so-called income as also the claim of tax payment was found to be fictitious and, as such, there was no tax credit due to the company, the reports said.

The Rs570-crore tax demand includes interest due on the amount for delayed payment, the reports said.

Mahindra Satyam has sought a waiver of the tax claim but the I-T department has refused to oblige, saying, "This is not possible, as there is no provision in the law to write off the income."