Siliguri, 02nd July: The Income Tax Department has taken major action in Siliguri by attaching four properties belonging to two businessmen over outstanding tax dues amounting to several crores of rupees.
According to officials, the department has warned that if the pending tax is not cleared within one month, the attached properties will be put up for auction.
The dues are reportedly linked to businessman Om Prakash Jaiswal and his wife, who owe around ₹4.5 crore in income tax since the financial year 2011–12, and businessman Naresh Kumar Verma, who has a pending tax liability of around ₹3.5 crore. With penalties and interest, the total dues have nearly doubled.
Officials stated that despite multiple notices issued over the years, the dues remained unpaid, following which the recovery wing initiated a detailed investigation into movable and immovable assets.
During the probe, it was found that Om Prakash Jaiswal owns two flats in Lumina Apartment in Uttorayon, while Naresh Kumar Verma owns a flat in Serenity Apartment in Champasari and around 64 katthas of land in the Tea Auction Road area of Mallaguri.
On Wednesday, Income Tax officials formally attached all four properties and served notices at the respective locations.
The department has set a one-month deadline for payment, failing which the attached properties will be auctioned as per legal procedure. The action is being seen as a strict enforcement step in pending tax recovery cases in and around Siliguri.