HC orders Satyam to pay CBDT Rs350 crore
31 Mar 2011
In a setback for Mahindra Satyam, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday asked the company to pay Rs350 crore to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and provide a further unconditional bank guarantee worth Rs267 crore to the tax department.
The court also restrained Mahindra Satyam from approaching the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on the matter before it heard the matter completely.
The interim order comes after Mahindra Satyam moved the high court last week seeking a stay on the proceedings related to a Rs617-crore claim made by tax authorities.
The I-T department's claim is based on Rs345 crore foreign tax credit availed of by the former management of Satyam Computer Services headed by Ramalinga Raju during 2002-08. The present management insists that the papers are forged.
The court has given three weeks to the CBDT for filing the counter. The case will now come up for hearing on 20 April.
However, a Division Bench comprising justices V V S Rao and Ramesh Ranganathan has allowed Mahindra Satyam access to its bank accounts worth Rs1,300 crore. Earlier the court had prevented both Mahindra Satyam and the I-T department from accessing the company's frozen bank accounts.
