I-T department seeks details of MoUs signed in `Vibrant Gujarat' campaigns

Though the 'Vibrant Gujarat' summits over the past few years have been claimed as a huge success by the Narendra Modi government, the income tax department seems less than convinced.

It has sought details from the state government about companies that signed MoUs for projects worth Rs1,000 crore or more during the campaign.
 
The department has slapped a notice on the Gujarat government seeking details of the 7,936 memoranda of understanding signed with investors to bring in anticipated revenue of around Rs21,00,000 crore through various projects.

The investigation wing of I-T wrote to the Gujarat government on 17 February saying an inquiry in connection with the Vibrant Gujarat 2011 summit is pending. The department sought details of MoUs signed by various corporate entities in the past two editions of the summit - in 2009 and 2011.

''We are looking at the source of funds, primarily to know if the money parked through these summits is legal and there are no tax evasions,'' said a senior I-T official. Officials in the state industries department said the I-T department would scrutinise around 8,000 MoUs.

Modi's party, the BJP, has been prompt to cry foul, describing it as a thinly-veiled Congress attempt to discourage the state government's campaign to attract foreign investment.

Minister of state for industries Saurabh Patel, while revealing the I-T letter in the state assembly, alleged that Gujarat was being targeted by the central government. ''I want to ask the centre if it has sent such letters to all the states or has Gujarat been singled out?'' he asked.