The Hindu : National : I-T raids on Uflex, HFCL

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Friday, May 11, 2007
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I-T raids on Uflex, HFCL

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Income Tax Department sleuths on Thursday raided and conducted search operations on the premises of Uflex Ltd. (earlier known as Flex Industries) at Noida in Uttar Pradesh, as also the telecom equipment manufacturer, Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd. (HFCL) for suspected evasion of taxes.

According to I-T Department officials, the search operations were conducted in 10 premises of Uflex, including its facilities in U.P. and Delhi. Besides, survey operations are also on at five premises of Uflex.

In 1983, the company was promoted as Flex Industries by Ashok Chaturvedi, a businessman based at Noida.

Documents seized

Search operations were also conducted on the residential premises of Mr. Chaturvedi during which cash, jewellery and incriminating documents were seized, officials said. Further details are not available.

The Department's operations stem from the Noida land scam case. It is alleged that some members of Mr. Chaturvedi's family benefited from the allotment of land at concessional rates.

Uflex, a listed company on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), is engaged in the manufacture of packaging products, polyester film, inks and adhesives. The group, having a turnover of about Rs. 700 crore, has offices in a number of other cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore, apart from those in Uttar Pradesh.

Following the raids, the share prices of Uflex and HFCL slumped by 4.98 per cent and 5.28 per cent, respectively on the BSE. While the Uflex scrip plummeted to Rs. 151.80 from the intra-day high of Rs. 158, the HFCL stock slipped to close at Rs. 24.20 from the day's high of Rs. 26.

Reaction

PTI reports:

Unfazed by the Income Tax raid on an industrial house, said to be close to Samajwadi Party, its leader Amar Singh on Thursday said his party would not succumb to such ``coercive'' tactics.

"If they want to raid me or Mulayam Singh, they are more than welcome to do that. We are not afraid or apprehensive of Congress coercive measures,'' he told reporters as he emerged from Parliament.

"I am not aware of the extent of the raids [against Uflex]. I have been hearing that official machinery will be used against people supposed to be close to me," he said.

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