New Delhi: Mahindra Satyam on Sunday said the government should not assess the income tax liability of the IT firm before the restatement of financial accounts is completed.

Reacting to a government statement which says that Satyam Computer, which is now rebranded Mahindra Satyam, owes Rs532 crore to the income tax department, a Mahindra Satyam official said, “Our accounts are still being restated and the assessment must be subject to the final outcome and any tax liability calculated based on the previous financial may not be accurate.”

The person added that “the parallel process of the investigation by the regulatory authorities and the ongoing forensic auditing, once completed will provide the true picture on the financial performance and related amounts payable if any, to the authorities.”

KPMG and Deloittee were mandated to restate financial accounts after Satyam’s disgraced founder B Ramalinga Raju confessed to fudging the books in January this year. The restatement of accounts of Mahindra Satyam is expected to be completed by December, 2009.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha last week, minister of state for finance S S Palanimanickam had said that Satyam Computer owes a hefty Rs532 crore to the I-T department.

Palanimanickam had also confirmed that the income tax authorities have re-opened the income tax assessment in respect of Raju and all other companies in which he was associated along with Satyam Computer.

However, the minister had maintained that all the cases in which assessment have been re-opened are pending to be finalised by 31 December, 2009.

“The position regarding the amount of tax leviable in such cases can be quantified only on the completion of assessments, which would be finalised by 31 December,” Palanimanickam said.

Satyam Computer plunged into a crisis following admission by its founder B Ramalinga Raju in January of overstating the firm’s profits.