Income Tax Dept raids various locations of Gujarat-based business group

New Delhi: The Income Tax Department said on Tuesday it has raided 58 premises spread across Kheda, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata belonging to a Gujarat-based prominent business conglomerate engaged in diversified fields of textiles, chemicals, packaging, real estate, and education.

According to an official statement released by the Union Finance Ministry, search and seizure operations were conducted on 20th July. "As a result of the search operation, various incriminating evidence in the form of documents and digital data has been found and seized," the ministry said.

These evidence reveal that the group has been engaged in large-scale tax evasion by adopting various methods, including, by way of unaccounted cash sales outside the books of account, booking of bogus purchases, and on-money receipts from real estate transactions.
The group has also been found involved in the layering of unaccounted sums through share premium from Kolkata-based shell companies. Certain instances of unaccounted income generated through cash-based 'sarafi' (unsecured) advances made have also been found.

It was also found that the group has been involved in profiteering through the manipulation of share prices of its listed companies through operators. Evidence seized also reveal that the group has been siphoning off funds through fictitious entities for the personal use of promoters. Further, analysis of the evidence suggests that the group is also involved in the manipulation of books of account of its public limited companies.

The search action has resulted in unearthing unaccounted transactions exceeding Rs 1000 crore. So far, unaccounted cash of Rs 24 crore and unexplained jewelry, bullion, etc valued at Rs 20 crore have been seized during the course of the search. Further investigations are in progress, the ministry said. (ANI)