The Income Tax (TI) department on Wednesday raided a Tamil Nadu-based group that ran multiple educational institutions and the action had led to the detection of alleged tax evasion worth roughly ₹150 crore, the CBDT said today.
Searches were carried out at 22 locations in Coimbatore, Erode, Chennai and Namakkal of the group and its associates, including a civil contractor.
“The search was carried out on the basis of information that the fees charged to students were not fully accounted for in the regular account books,” the IT department said.
“The search has led to the identification of unaccounted for investments and cash payments to the point of ₹150 crore. Cash worth ₹Rs 5 million was seized, “he added.
“Some lockers have not yet been operated. The search is still continuing,” confirmed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in a statement.
The seized electronic devices are also being examined, he said.
The CBDT is the administrative authority of the Income Tax (IT) department.
“The evidence found during the search reveals that the allegations about the suppression of the fees received are true and the unaccounted receipts are diverted to the personal accounts of the trustees, who in turn are invested in real estate through a company.
“The other shareholders of the company, such as an architect from Tirupur and a textile entrepreneur, were also covered,” he said.
In the case of a raid against Namakkal civilian contractors, expense inflation was found by recording “false expenses” on labor charges, material purchases, etc., the statement added.
Two days ago, the IT department carried out a search and seizure action on a large network of people who carried out the entry operation and the generation of large amounts of cash through false invoicing.
Search operations were carried out at 42 locations in Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa.
The search has led to the seizure of evidence exposing the entire network of entry operators, intermediaries, cash handlers, beneficiaries, and the firms and companies involved. Until now, the documents that show accommodation entries of more ₹Rs 500 million has already been found and confiscated.
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