Black money probe receives new name

By NewsGram Staff Writer

Switzerland said on Tuesday that it has received a request for information on Neo Corp International Ltd, an Indore- based textiles firm, on suspected black money cases which are being investigated by tax authorities in India.

Neo Corp had already faced income tax searches on its various premises earlier in February for alleged tax evasion. Having started out as a small woven sack maker in 1985, the company now claims to be a multinational technical textiles group.

As part of India's crackdown against suspected black money stashed in Swiss bank accounts, the country has sought details from Switzerland about numerous individuals and companies. This was carried out as a part of India's bilateral treaty with Switzerland for administrative assistance and exchange of information.
A series of such Indian names have been published in the official gazette of the Swiss government about whom the tax authorities in India have sought information. Many other requests are pending as the Swiss authorities conduct their own examinations of the same before sharing information.
The notification about the concerned entity's right to appeal is generally the first step in the information exchange process. This is typically seen as the Swiss government's in-principle agreeing to share the information.

As per their local laws, Neo Corp will have 30 days to appeal against "administrative assistance" by the Swiss federal tax administration, the notification stated.

The notification stated that the appeal needed to be filed before the Swiss federal administrative court along with reasons and evidence for the same; it gave February 15, 1985 as the date of incorporation.

However, in a regulatory filing to the BSE earlier in May, Neo Corp had said that it was cooperating with the tax authorities and that a search had been conducted on February 27, 2015 on the company, its group companies, directors and key officials.

"The company is in the process of collating and responding to all the queries raised by the income tax authorities and the company is lending its fullest co-operation to the department in completing the enquiry. It is to put on record that no incriminating documents or undisclosed income was found as far as Neo Corp and its group companies are concerned," the BSE filing on May 22 stated.

Though Neo Corp is listed on the BSE, its shares have been falling sharply for the past few days. The company claims to be present in over 28 countries and commands a market value of Rs 134 crore. It posted a revenue of Rs 744 crore and a net profit of Rs 30 crore in the latest fiscal.