CBI arrests income tax officer for accepting Rs 4 lakh bribe

New Delhi, May 3, 2024 

The CBI has arrested an income tax officer in Mumbai for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 4 lakh in exchange for issuing a ‘lower TDS certificate’ on the sale of a property, officials said on Friday.

They said Vikas Bansal had allegedly demanded two per cent of the deal value of the property as bribes at first but later agreed to one per cent which comes to Rs 5.04 lakh. The deal value of the property was Rs 5.04 crore.

The case pertains to the sale of a property in Mumbai’s Byculla owned by an NRI, who wanted to sell it due to some personal reasons and needed a lower TDS certificate from the income tax department.

As per the complaint lodged in the case, an application was submitted on the portal of the income tax department for a ‘lower TDS certificate’.

“However, no response was received from the Assessing Officer (AO). Subsequently, on April 29, 2024, the complainant along with representative of their CA visited and met Vikas Bansal, ITO, the Assessing Officer who was dealing with the said matter, at Income Tax Office, Air India Building, Nariman Point, Mumbai,” according to the FIR.

Bansal allegedly demanded a bribe of two per cent of the deal value but reduced it during negotiations. The complainant then approached the CBI, according to the officials.

After verification of allegations, the central probe agency laid a trap and Bansal was caught accepting Rs 4 lakh of the total bribe amount, they added. 

[Press Trust of India]