Lalu saves tax, milks cash cow

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Keywords: Wedding, Ashoka Hotel

New Delhi: Railway Minister Lalu Prasad paid over Rs 10 lakh to Indian Tourism Development Corporation’s (ITDC's) Ashoka Hotel for his daughter's wedding.

Receipts of the payment available with CNN-IBN show the payments were made in cash, on the same day and all this just to save income tax.

Bill number 532337 was given by the hotel’s management to Lalu against a cash payment of Rs 9 lakh on May 4, 2006.

However, the column where the mode of payment is added was left blank and there's no mention of any date anywhere.

On the same day, the minister made another payment to the same hotel — receipt no. 532338 — the amount paid this time was Rs 1,01,250.

The bill numbers clearly indicate that the payments were made on the same date, one after another. In effect, Laloo Yadav paid more than Rs 10 lakh in cash to the hotel.

"We had to take our payments. He wanted to pay in cash so we had no problems with it," Manager, Ashoka Hotel, Vinod Sharma said.

It's worth mentioning that none of the two receipts have the PAN number written on them. That’s when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made it compulsory that PAN numbers be specified for payments made over Rs 50,000. The RBI has specifically done this to check black money.

Now, the question that arises is why and how did Lalu Prasad make a payment of Rs 10 lakh in cash without giving his PAN number.

But, this can best be answered by Lalu himself or perhaps the Ashoka Hotel management.

"Laluji is a famous person, so there was no need to take his PAN number. And if it is required then I’ll ask him and am sure he’ll give it," Sharma said.