Direct tax dept plans institute on 400-cr HMT land

In what could be possibly one of the largest real estate deals in the city,the Direct Taxes Regional Training Institute will buy 20 acres of land for an estimated value of Rs 400 crore from ailing public sector company HMT Ltd,close to its current facility at Jalahalli.

The move is being seen as a double deal of sorts for the Union government as it would facilitate the construction of a global taxation training centre in the country,while also funding nearly 50 per cent of HMT Ltds costly revival plans.

The deal,which is awaiting formal approval from the finance ministry,will be the first step in the setting up of a global training campus on taxation an urgent need considering the department is swamped with requests from several countries to train tax personnel.Construction work on the new facility is expected to commence  a year from now.

Jahanzeb Akhtar,director of the facility,said that the deal would be finalised at current market prices that puts the total value at Rs 400 crore. Akhtar,who spearheaded the successful commissioning of the present facility which was formally inaugurated in April last year,said several countries including Sri Lanka,Bhutan,Oman,Brazil and South Africa are keen on sending their tax collectors to train in India.She revealed that the apex body,the National Academy of Direct Taxes in Nagpur,has been inundated with requests from foreign personnel to train in a wide range of subjects such as advanced transfer pricing,international taxes and e-commerce.

Should the deal go through,it would finance nearly half of HMTs revival package,which is pegged at Rs 980 crore.A sports stadium with a functional cricket pitch sits on part of the land,but Akhtar claimed these facilities would be left intact.

The present training centre is a three-star recognised facility of the central government,which boasts zero waste discharge and state of the art technology for communication and training.It had cost the tax department Rs 30 crore and is spread over 1.25 lakh sq ft with accommodation for 110 trainees,dining facility for 75 and a small gym.

The initial brief from the then finance minister P Chidambaram was not to make it into another shabby government building, Akhtar said.Today its a seed of change and a visible repository of excellence.

This is not the first time the direct tax department has been involved in a deal with HMT.In fact,their association goes back a few years.The department had purchased what used to be HMTs corporate office at Mekhri Circle.HMT also sold part of its land holdings to realtor Prestige Group.