The Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) has filed cases against two individuals on charge of evading taxes worth Rs 390 million.

The DRI filed a case against Siddhi Bahadur Maharjan, a permanent resident of Lalitpur Metropolitan City-11 and proprietor of Trishakti Traders, at the Patan High Court on Monday. The department has sought to recover Rs 123.58 million from Maharjan and the maximum jail term for the offense as per the law.

Maharjan has been accused of evading government taxes of Rs 61.79 million. Of the amount, evasion of VAT stood at Rs 18.73 million and income tax worth Rs 43.05 million. Maharjan was found using counterfeit VAT bills and manipulated details of financial transactions.

In a separate incident, the DRI filed a case against Punit Baniya, a permanent resident of Siddhartha Municipality-3 and proprietor of Sumit and Swayata Traders, at the Tulsipur High Court in Butwal. The department has sought the court’s intervention to recover Rs 660.70 million from the accused and a police detention for a maximum period according to the law.

Baniya was found switching the financial transaction to an alternative firm while not paying the tax liabilities of his actual firm.