The SC on Sunday had ordered the DRI not to proceed with the investigation into suspected tax evasion by the law firm of Thapa and be present at court with all the documents and other equipments taken away from his office. [break]
The DRI on Friday had raided five firms, including the Legal Advisors Forum run by Thapa, on suspicion of tax evasion. The investigation team had seized laptop computers, desktop computers, cash receipts and revenue-related documents from the firms, for further investigations.
Thapa on Sunday had moved the apex court with a writ petition arguing that his firm was raided as he has been opposing the appointment of Lokman Singh Karki as chief commissioner of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).
According to SC Spokesperson Shrikant Poudel, hearings on the writ petition have been deferred till Sunday. A division bench of Justices Girish Chandra Lal and Gyanendra Bahadur Karki was scheduled to conduct the hearings on the petition.
As per existing provisions, service firms with annual transactions of over Rs 1 million must register for VAT and pay annual income tax by submitting financial statements to the tax office regularly.
Show cause notice against another raid
The SC on Tuesday issued a show cause notice against the DRI for a raid conducted by the latter.
Responding to a writ petition filed by advocate Uddhav KC on Monday, a single bench of Justice Gyanendra Bahadur Karki ordered the defendants to furnish clarification in writing within 15 days as to why the move was taken.
The DRI on Friday had raided five firms including Janachetana law firm run by KC, on suspicion of tax evasion.
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