Kolkata: The Income Tax Department carried out search and seizure operations on November 16 on a prominent Kolkata-based group engaged in the manufacturing of cement and real estate. The search action covered 24 premises spread over Kolkata, Delhi, and places in the states of Assam and Meghalaya.
A large number of incriminating pieces of evidence in the form of documents and digital data showing evasion of a huge amount of unaccounted income of the group have been found and seized. This evidence indicates evasion of taxable income adopting various malpractices such as suppression of production, unaccounted and under-invoicing of sales, inflation of the cost of purchases using bogus parties, and unaccounted expenditure incurred in cash. Evidence of receipt of on-money in cash on sale of flats, by a group concern, has also been unearthed. Further analysis of seized evidence reveals that many paper companies are run by the group to provide accommodation entries to its flagship concern.
During the search proceedings, incriminating evidence containing transactions of unexplained unsecured loans, bogus commission paid, and unsubstantiated share capital and share premium received through shell companies, have also been found and seized.
Firms of the group were also found to be run in the names of persons/ employees who are persons of small means. While these employees were earning meager salaries, payments running into crores of rupees were being made to such firms. These firms are found to be operating from the factory premise of the group.
The search action has resulted in the seizure of unaccounted cash of Rs. 1.30 crore. 6 bank lockers have been placed under restraint. The search action, so far, has led to the detection of a total unaccounted income of around Rs. 200 crores.
Further investigations are in progress.
(Vinayak)