Complaint sent to PM levels charges of graft, financial irregularities against IT Dept officials

An ‘insider’, who does not wish to have his identity revealed at this juncture, has sent a letter addressed to the Prime Minister levelling allegations of financial irregularities by certain Delhi-based personnel of the Income Tax Department.

A copy of the letter, which accuses a certain employee posted in Directorate of Systems of having received kickbacks in the purchase of goods and services related to computers in collusion with certain officials, has been marked to DGIT (Investigation), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and CVC.

In the letter sent to the PM in the first week of July, he has alleged that this person colluded with certain senior IT officials to make certain purchases after rules which require floating of tenders were tweaked, causing losses worth crores to the exchequer.

He has listed the names of six vendors in the complaint who allegedly created fake and inflated purchase bills in order to receive kickbacks.

A share of 75 per cent was given as “bribe” for creating fake bills, 25 per cent for creating increased bills and 10 percent on regular bills by the private companies associated with the IT department, alleged the complainant in his letter.

Terming the officials as “embezzlers”, the complaint reads, “The Directorate of Income Tax (Investigation) could not utilize 90 per cent of the allotted budget till February, 2021 but in the last five weeks of the FY 2020-21, the division has made purchase not only to exhaust 90 percent of the allocated budget but also got sanctioned additional budget/funds amounting to crores of rupees.”

A questionnaire was sent to DGIT (Investigation) H.B.S Gill seeking his comments regarding the complaint in question but he has not responded till the time this story was published. It will be updated as and when a response is received.

A call was also made to one of the persons named in the complaint who is working with the Investigation wing of the department, but no response could be elicited till the time this story was published.