Income-Tax notices to two NGOs of Kiran Bedi

The Income-Tax Department has sent notices to the two NGOs run by Team Anna member Kiran Bedi to find out whether they are engaged in commercial activities.

"We are not targeting any particular NGO or charitable trust. In fact, we have sent notices to several organisations, including those run by Kiran Bedi. We want to see if any one of these are engaged in commercial activities also," a senior finance ministry official said.

Bedi, who had founded India Vision Foundation and Navjyoti India Foundation, however, denied that her NGOs were engaged in kind of commercial activity. "We are not engaged in any commercial activity for profit and every year we have been filing our account statement before the Revenue authorities (sic). We are in this work for making the difference in people's lives and making them better, self-reliant citizens," she said.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) enjoy tax exemptions under the Income-Tax Act as they are engaged in charitable activities and provide education and medical relief to the poor.

Bedi, a former Indian Police Service officer, is a key member of Anna Hazare's team which has launched the anti-corruption crusade and is fighting for an effective Lokpal Bill. Bedi was in the news recently for allegedly inflating travel bills and overcharging hosts. (Economic Times)