NEW DELHI: Income Tax Department of India is going to scrutinize two different entities of non-governmental organization Green Peace India Society and Green Peace Environment Trust on suspicion of tax evasion and violation of provisions under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) 2010.
An Income Tax source said that Green Peace India Society, located in Gopalapuram here, is under the scanner for violation of Section 8 of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act by spending more than 50 per cent of the donation received from abroad on administrative expenses.
As per the FCRA act, the person or entity, who is registered and granted a certificate or given prior permission under FCRA and receives any foreign contribution, shall not defray as far as possible such sum, not exceeding 50 per cent of such contribution, received on a financial year to meet administrative expenses. And if the administrative expenses exceed 50 per cent of the foreign contribution, it may be defrayed with prior approval of the Central Government.
The source said that during an assessment for the year 2011-12, which is done for the previous financial year (2010-11) revealed that Green Peace India Society spent more than 60 per cent of the foreign donation it received from abroad on administrative expenses. The assessment revealed that of the Rs 5.59 crore donations the society received, Rs 5.11 crore alone came from The Netherlands.
It was found that besides spending about 60 per cent of the amount on administrative expenses, the society also spent Rs 8 lakh worth funds on foreign travel, accommodation, visa fee etc for employees who were working for Green Peace Environment Trust. “Both the Trust and Society are separate entities although the trustees, all of whom are Indians, are same. However, the Society can’t use its funds to take care of the employees of the trust,” the source revealed.
It is also learnt that based on the assessment, it was found that there was tax violation worth Rs 2.48 crore. The Income Tax has sent a notice to Green Peace India Society on March 2014 to pay taxes worth Rs 2.48 crore following which they went on appeal within a month by paying 50 per cent of the tax demanded.
