I-T dept issues second notice to Deepak Kochhar

The notices dovetail with a Central Bureau of Investigation preliminary enquiry concerning a suspected quid-pro-quo in a loan extended by ICICI Bank to the Videocon Group in 2012, and Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot’s investment (and subsequent transfer of ownership) in a company co-founded by him and Deepak Kochhar.

The tax department has issued a second notice to Deepak Kochhar, the husband of ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar, seeking details of tax returns and balance sheets of companies headed by him.

Deepak Kochhar, founder and CEO and manging director of NuPower Renewables Pvt. Ltd.(File Photo)

“We have not received all the information that we had sought, so a second notice has been sent,” said a tax officer on condition of anonymity.

The notices dovetail with a Central Bureau of Investigation preliminary enquiry concerning a suspected quid-pro-quo in a loan extended by ICICI Bank to the Videocon Group in 2012, and Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot’s investment (and subsequent transfer of ownership) in a company co-founded by him and Deepak Kochhar.

The first notice was issued earlier this month, to probe the possibility of tax evasion when shareholding companies of Deepqak Kochhar’s NuPower Renewables Pvt Ltd changed hands. Deepak Kochhar is managing director of NuPower Renewables.

“There have money flows into NuPower through Mauritius and Cayman Islands. We need to know the source of money,” said a second tax officer, also on condition of anonymity. CBI’s preliminary enquiry names Dhoot and Deepak Kochhar, but not Chanda Kochhar. CBI has also issued so-called look-out notices to ensure Dhoot and Deepak Kochhar do not leave India.