The Income Tax department has issued a notice to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) V S Sampath in connection with the sale of a property in Hyderabad and acquiring a new residential property in Delhi with that money.

The notice, issued by the intelligence wing of the department, has detected a 'high-value transaction'. 

 

The notice related to the sale of a property in 2011 by Sampath in Hyderabad and subsequent purchase of another residential asset in Delhi, department sources said. Officials said while it was "not a tax evasion" case, the I-T department wanted to check if Sampath was "eligible for re-investment" of the income he had earned from the sale of the property. 

The officials said once a reply is received from Sampath they would decide whether to issue further notice or close the case based on the explanation given. 

Sources close to the CEC expressed surprise over the matter coming to public domain now. 

Reacting to the development, the sources felt it was an unusual development that a routine request for clarifications issued to the CEC pertaining to a property transaction in 2011 has been leaked to media as a notice. 

They expressed surprise that despite the transaction having taken place over three years ago, and the matter under correspondence between I-T department and CEC over the last four months, it has been made available to the media "discreetly". 

The sources said "it is a routine communication pertaining to a transaction of sale and purchase of a property of equal value during the year 2011 and matters connected thereto. 

"It is unfair that matters at such clarificatory stage are being placed in the media, particularly when correspondence between tax authorities and the assessee are confidential. The tax consultant will seek appointment with the concerned income tax authorities and explain the correct position." 

The notice was sent under the provisions of Section 54 that relates to capital gains. 
PTI