SC issues notice to PwC, other firms over tax evasion case

Following allegations that chartered accounting firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers and several others are fudging accounts or bungling on their jobs, the Supreme Court today issued notices to the union government, the Enforcement Directorate, the Reserve Bank of India, and a dozen major charted accounting firms.

The PIL filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation alleged that these firms are flouting Income Tax Act, the Foreign Exchange Maintenance Act (FEMA), and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations, and indulging in massive of tax evasion.

Issuing the notice, a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the issues raised by the CPIL needed to be examined.

The notice is returnable in four weeks.

The CPIL has sought probe into various allegations against PricewaterhouseCoopers and its network audit firms operating in India and sharing the PwC name for alleged falsification of books of accounts, evasion of income tax and violation of Foreign Direct Investment rules, RBI guidelines and the Foreign Exchange Management Act, among other things.