New Delhi: After Income Tax, it's now the turn of the Service Tax department to issue a notice of Rs 4.94 crore dues to yoga guru Baba Ramdev's trust for alleged duty evasion on its income raised through country-wide 'yog shivirs' (camps).
The department's snoop and investigation wing, Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI), has also launched a scrutiny of accounts of various activities conducted by the trusts run by Ramdev across the country post-2006.
The latest tax notice, after the Income Tax department had slapped a notice of Rs 58 crore against Ramdev's trusts, has been issued against the Haridwar-based Patanjali Yog Peeth for "sale of coupons" of different denominations for organising 'yog shivirs', both residential and non-residential.
Thousands of people have participated in these camps conducted across the country in the last five years.
In his reaction, Ramdev's spokesperson S K Tijarawala said they will counter the Service Tax department's action.
"We are replying to the notice. Yog shivirs are classified under the category of providing medical relief which cannot be termed as earning commercial profit," he said.
Sources said income generated from Ramdev's yoga camps, in which people participate after buying coupons, is liable to be brought under the service tax domain.
Under service tax provisions, Yoga is in the taxable list of health and fitness services.
Sources said agency sleuths, during the investigation, recorded country-wide price tags of coupons which were sold in an increasing value order from the back row to the front during these 'yog shivirs'.
PTI
First Published: Monday, June 04, 2012, 15:49