Two helicopter operators were fined ₹4.25 lakh on charges of tax evasion by the officials from the Department of Commercial Taxes (Enforcement Wing) here on Monday.
The two firms were flying the general public in their helicopters as “joy ride” for some time now. They were reportedly collecting ₹5000 per person for the ride. However, it came to notice that the operators had not adhered to the mandatory tax compliances of the governments. Neither they had registered with the authority and obtained a licence to operate nor had remitted the GST. The joy ride was being done as a business with the object of making profits, officials said.
A team led by Joint Commissioner (Enforcement) Indra conducted inquiries on Saturday with the two operators and found that they had not paid the taxes to the government as mandated. Hence, under charges of tax evasion, they were fined ₹4.25 lakh, a press release issued here on Monday stated.
A senior official said that they were in the process of recovering the fine and warned of stern action against firms and companies if they were found violating the laws.
Claiming to promote helicopter tourism, the joy ride by the two helicopter operators had been attracting crowd as flying atop the ‘temple’ city was a new experience for many of the public, which was hovering around some select places for about 30 minutes, the officials said and added that they were using an open space near a private self-finance college on the Madurai-Sivaganga Road.
