'My I-T officer was a dentist...': Businessman’s ₹69 lakh tax battle raises accountability questions

In 2019, Rakesh Sheth thought his books were behind him. Audits done, taxes paid, accounts closed. Then came the shocker—a ₹69 lakh income tax demand for FY 2012–13. “Seven years after everything was settled,” he wrote on X, “I received a staggering notice.” To even challenge it, he had to first pay over ₹13 lakh—20% of the demand—just to be heard.

What followed was a years-long legal slog. “Despite a rock-solid case rooted in standard accounting principles,” Sheth says, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ruled against him. Refusing to back down, he took the fight to the High Court—and finally won in 2024.

But the relief was bittersweet. “Victory, yes… but at what cost?” he asked.

“Who pays for the legal fees I incurred fighting an incompetent interpretation? What about the interest lost on the 20% deposit made under protest? Why is the department not held accountable for reckless demands, when they lose in a court of law?”

The case, he argues, is not an exception—it’s a symptom. “It exposes a deeper rot… how tax officers, with little to no understanding of accounting standards, wield power without consequence.”

He believes the pressure to raise revenue—coupled with ignorance of basic financial principles—has turned the system into a minefield for honest taxpayers. “There is no penalty for their ignorance. No system of restitution. The taxpayer bleeds time, money, and mental peace with zero consequences for those responsible.”

What stung most? “The best part… my IT officer had an education background of ‘Dentistry’.”

His story struck a chord. Mohandas Pai, former Infosys CFO, echoed the sentiment: “Can we grow to 10tr$ economy without EODB? We need forward-looking policy and regulations... We are stuck in policy and regulations of the past and a control mindset. The pain of growth is too much. Pl help citizens. Let us Make Bharat Great Again.”