Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said that she will look into the matter after IT industry leader and former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai flagged GST's overreach and sought intervention after the arrest of Fino Payment Bank's MD and CEO Rishi Gupta.
Gupta was arrested on Friday under the CGST, SGST act. Following that, the bank appointed Chief Financial Officer Ketan Merchant as head of the organisation to carry on and oversee the day-to-day operations.
According to sources, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is likely to evaluate the matter and the finance ministry may seek a report after finance minister took note of the arrest.
ALSO READ: Fino Payments Bank MD And CEO Rishi Gupta Arrested Under GST Act; CFO Ketan Merchant Appointed As Head
On Saturday, in a statement, Merchant said that the issue is with regard to a GST investigation pertaining to our business partners' who have relationship with other banks including Fino Payments Banks Limited, and the Bank and its MD & CEO, Mr. Rishi Gupta have nothing to do with the actions of the programme managers.
Sharing that statement, Pai tagged finance minister and said, "Madame @nsitharaman please see this. How can a CEO of a regulated bank be arrested for an issue with a business partner? Is this not overreach?"
"@FinMinIndia has given vast powers for GST. What is the safeguard for citizens against misuse? Please intervene," Pai added.
CFO Ketan Merchant also stated that the Bank wishes to inform that we have a strong corporate governance, compliance framework and robust processes in place.
"As a regulated entity, we are compliant with all the laws, including GST," the CFO said in a statement.
He added that they have full faith in the country's judiciary and will continue to extend full cooperation and assistance to the authorities in the ongoing process.
"We would like to further assure our customers, investors and all our stakeholders that our business operations will continue uninterrupted and there will be no impact on our services. We stand committed to deliver on our customer centricity.”
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