Service Tax Dept may go for reauction of Mallya’s jet

Mumbai, Aug 19 (PTI) The Service Tax Department maygo for another round of bidding for luxury jet of embattledbusinessman Vijay Mallya as the highest bid received duringthe auction here was a measly Rs 27 crore against the reserveprice of Rs 152 crore. "The department may go for fresh round of bidding forthe jet through its official auctioneer MSTC after rejectingthis offer," a department official told PTI here today. Yesterday, the highest bid amount (of Rs 27 crore) wasoffered by a domestic firm SGI Commex. The only other bidderwhich participated in the auction was a UAE-based aviationsupport firm Alna Aero Distributional Finance Holdings, whichlast time had made an offer of Rs 1.09 crore for the jet. The previous auction, which was conducted by thedepartment on June 30, had proved to be a damp squib as theUAE-based lone bidder had made a paltry offer of less than apercent of the reserve price. The plane was attached by the Service Tax Departmentin December 2013, claiming tax dues of over Rs 800 crore fromMallya’s now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. "We are still not happy at the highest bid amount (Rs27 crore) offered by SGI Commex. Hence, we may reject theoffer and go for fresh round of auction for the jet in our bidto recover the dues. However, a final call will be taken bythe department within a couple of days from now," the officialsaid. Earlier, the joint pricing committee, which comprisesfive members, including one additional commissioner of thedepartment and officials from the Directorate General ofCentral Excise Intelligence, met to discuss if the reserveprice could be lowered. However, the committee felt that the reserve price atRs 152 crore was good enough, keeping in view the value of thegoods involved in the jet, the official added. Also, the lenders’ attempt to sell the Kingfisher House inthe city for Rs 150 crore and the Kingfisher brands for Rs 367crore earlier this year had failed as no bidders turned up. The beleaguered tycoon owes over Rs 9,000 crore, whichincludes unpaid loans and accrued interest, to 17 banks. PTIKD DKARD