In yet another twist in the Nirav Modi case, the auditor of Punjab National Bank, BDO,

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which was appointed by the bank on February 27 to conduct a forensic audit on the firms of diamantaire Nirav Modi, has come under the scanner for alleged tax evasion, The Indian Express reported.

BDO’s India office and its partner MSKA and Associates have been accused of non-payment of Goods and Service Tax(GST), the paper reported Thursday.

An official told the paper that BDO has been collecting GST from the clients since July 2017, but hasn’t been paying itself since then. The collected GST amount is Rs 13.5 crore, according to the report.

The sources quoted by the paper said Directorate General of GST Intelligence officials conducted searches at the BDO offices in Mumbai and Pune on March 27 and 28 and learnt about the irregularities.

However, a BDO India spokesperson told the paper that “The visit of GST officials and their agenda was routine in nature and it turned out that BDO India was fully compliant on all concerns raised”. “The Rs 2 crore payment was also made by us, voluntarily in the course of discharging our liability, the rest of which is being paid, again in normal course and with concurrence of the tax officials. As a matter of policy and good governance, BDO discharges all its duties including payment of taxes responsibly and in compliance with the law,” said the report.

First Published:Mar 30, 2018 2:22 AM IST