THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bengaluru-based IT company Exalogic Solutions has reportedly paid GST and IGST on Rs 1.72 crore received in its business deal with CMRL. Exalogic is a company owned by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter Veena Vijayan. After opposition MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan raised objections, the state tax department conducted an investigation and obtained the information that Exalogic taxes had been paid.

According to reports the tax was paid in Karnataka. The GST department will forward the documents to the state government. Usually, there is no practice of specifically checking whether a private company has paid tax and not making it public. In case of non-payment of tax, legal action is taken. It is not certain whether the government will release the information such as how much has been paid and which items. Mathew Kuzhalnadan MLA applied for this request under the Right to Information Act, but the GST Department informed that they cannot respond under Section 8(1) E of the Right to Information Act which respects the privacy of individuals. The GST department clarified that the information provided by the taxpayer to the department is private and does not come within the scope of majority interest. Later, as an MLA, Mathew Kuzhalnadan wrote a letter to the Finance Department but did not get a reply, he alleged. In the order of the Interim Settlement Board of the Central Income Tax Department, it was revealed that Veena Vijayan received Rs 1.72 crore from a private black sand company. A political controversy ensued.