Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun's devious plan to split India exposed by NIA. Details here

September 26, 2023

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has shared details about Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Pannun in its dossier. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun "wants to create many countries by dividing India." The NIA document says Pannun has challenged the unity and integrity of India through his audio messages. Pannun wants a separate country for Punjabis named Khalistan, a country for Muslims named 'Democratic Republic of Urdustan', and a nation for the people of Kashmir.

Sikhs for Justice was declared an ‘Unlawful Association’ by the Government of India on July 10, 2019. Pannu, who was declared a ‘designated individual terrorist’ by the Government of India on July 1, 2020, has been actively exhorting Punjab-based gangsters and youth over social media to fight for the cause of the independent state of Khalistan, challenging the sovereignty, integrity and security of the country, NIA investigations have shown. In recent days, Pannu has been in the news for issuing blatant threats to senior Indian diplomats and government functionaries in public forums. He had also threatened Canadian Hindus for a few days, asking them to leave Canada and claiming that they had adopted a ‘jingoistic approach’ by siding with India.

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Earlier, tightening its noose around Canada-based designated individual terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday confiscated the house and land of the self-styled General Counsel of the outlawed Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) outfit in Amritsar (Punjab) and Chandigarh Union Territory. The properties confiscated include 46 kanal agricultural land situated in Khankot village in Amritsar and 1/4th share of House Number 2033 in Sector 15/C, Chandigarh, said the NIA.

These properties were earlier attached following orders passed by the government in two different cases.

The properties have now been confiscated on the court’s orders under section 33(5) of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), 1967, in case RC-19/2020/NIA/DLI dated 5th April 2020, registered under sections 120-B, 124-A, 153-A 153-B and 17, 18 and 19 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, said the agency.

This is the first time that properties of an absconding accused of NIA have been confiscated under section 33(5) of UA(P)A. The case was originally registered on October 19, 2018, under sections 124A, 153-A, 153-B and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code at Sultanwind Police Station in Amritsar (City) and later transferred to the NIA. A total of 10 accused, including Pannun, have so far been charge-sheeted in the case.

The action, which comes as a big boost to the country’s crackdown on the terror and secessionist network being operated from various countries, including Canada, followed confiscation orders passed by the NIA Special Court, SAS Nagar, Mohali. Pannun has been on NIA’s radar since 2019 when the anti-terror agency registered its first case against the terrorist, who has been playing a major role in promoting and commissioning terror acts and activities, and spreading fear and terror in Punjab and elsewhere in the country through his threats and intimidation tactics.

Non-bailable warrants of arrest were issued against Pannun by the NIA Special Court on February 3, 2021, and he was declared a ‘Proclaimed Offender (PO)' on November 29 last year. NIA investigations have revealed that Pannu’s organisation, Sikhs for Justice, was misusing cyberspace to radicalise gullible youth and to instigate them to undertake terrorist crimes and activities.

It further emerged during the NIA investigations that Pannu was the main handler and controller of the SFJ.

*With Agency Inputs

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Updated: 25 Sep 2023, 09:49 PM IST

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Govt’s GST claims from gaming firms may touch ₹1.5 tn

4 min read 26 Sep 2023, 11:47 PM IST

Shouvik Das , Gireesh Chandra Prasad

Three senior lawyers who represent top online gaming firms said the DGGI is preparing notices across various firms in the industry

Until FY23, the online gaming sector, which includes companies offering real-money games to users, paid GST at 18% of its net earnings. (iStockphoto)

The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) is expected to issue tax demands of as much as ₹1.5 trillion ($18 billion) cumulatively to companies in the online gaming sector for alleged underpayment of taxes over several years, three people aware of the matter said.

Projections of such taxation notices come a day after Mumbai-based Sporta Technologies, which runs the popular fantasy gaming platform Dream11, filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court appealing retrospective show-cause notices by the DGGI for FY18 and FY19.

Three senior lawyers who represent top online gaming firms said the DGGI is preparing notices across various firms in the industry, which include Games24x7, Head Digital Works, Junglee Games, Baazi Games and Mobile Premier League. Smaller firms such as WinZO are also on the list of firms that are likely to receive goods and services tax (GST) demand notices from the DGGI in the coming weeks, they said.

“Dream11 is in the process of receiving intimations for FY20 to FY22, which are likely to see compounding tax claims from the DGGI. The tax claim for the final year is likely to reach ₹40,000 crore, with a cumulative tax claim for these years amounting to ₹55,000 crore," one of the lawyers said, requesting anonymity.

A senior government official said that alleged short-payment of taxes, along with penalties, works out to around ₹55,000 crore in these cases, as the penalty applicable is 100% of the due taxes. However, the official underlined that it remains to be seen how far the government will go to recover the alleged tax dues, given the matter is making its way through the judiciary.

One of the lawyers cited above also said that a similar notice, to the tune of ₹19,000 crore, is expected to be received by Mumbai-based Games24x7 as well.

A third lawyer added that future tranches of intimations and subsequent notices to be sent by the DGGI are likely to add up to a cumulative tax demand figure of nearly ₹1.5 trillion, including the claim of ₹21,000 crore from Gameskraft last year, which amounts to around three times the revenue of the entire sector.

Dream11 declined to comment on the matter, while Games24x7 did not respond until press time.

Firms, however, are approaching courts to appeal these notices. The petition by Dream11, a copy of which was seen by Mint, said the DGGI claimed a total tax of ₹216.94 crore from Dream11 for FY18 and ₹1,005.77 crore for FY19. The DGGI, in its notices sent to Dream11 on 12 September, said that “there is no dispute that the amounts pooled in the escrow account is an actionable claim." The notice refers to the total amount collected by a company or its gross revenue as eligible for tax at a rate of 28%.

“The taxation issue in online gaming presently threatens to remind you of Vodafone’s acquisition tax case against the Centre in 2012. There is no provision for retrospective claims on the new GST rate applied at the 51st GST Council meeting on 2 August, and the DGGI’s filings are in violation of legal precedent wherein the Supreme Court itself has ruled in favour of fantasy and real-money games qualifying as games of skill. It is therefore unreasonable to club them under the same bracket as gambling and lottery, and subsequently charge them tax retrospectively—and most companies in the industry will seek judicial avenues with petitions, as and when their notices are served," a senior lawyer representing a top gaming firm said, requesting anonymity.

However, industry stakeholders said that companies are not contemplating seeking ministerial intervention in this matter, at least for now. A senior consultant for the sector said that most legal precedents point in favour of companies in regard to taxation claims, and the industry remains hopeful of negating such a tax burden.

Dream11’s petition said the notices by the DGGI “are in infringement of Article 19(1)(g) read with Article 21 of the Constitution of India… and proposes to re-agitate the issue." The petition further said, “Rule 31A of the CGST Rules read with Section 15(5) of the Act suffers from excessive delegation, and imposes unreasonable basis for determination of value of supply, which is against the principle of Section 15 of the CGST Act… (and) would also constitute an unreasonable restriction upon the right of (Dream11) to carry on trade."

The DGGI’s assessment is against what online gaming firms have paid as tax so far. Until FY23, the online gaming sector, which includes companies offering real-money games to users, paid GST at 18% of its net earnings. The DGGI, in its own notice, pegged the earnings of a firm, also referred to as ‘platform fee’, at 15% of the total amount collected by a platform. Most industry estimates peg this figure at around 10%. This suggests that while firms have so far paid around ₹1.8 as GST for every ₹100 earned, the DGGI’s claim suggests that firms should pay ₹28 for similar earnings—an exponentially higher figure.

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Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun's devious plan to split India exposed by NIA. Details here

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