Quess Corp counters IT Dept, denies 'concealing' income

New Delhi, July 14 Manpower outsourcing company Quess Corp has denied concealing any income after the IT department claimed that it has revealed undisclosed income of around Rs 880 crore during raids of the company's two premises in Bengaluru.

Quess Corp has said that the Income Tax Department conducted a survey under Sec 133A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 at its Registered Office, and at that of its subsidiary Terrier Security Services, during July 8-10, 2021.

"We extended full cooperation to the Department, including providing complete information in a timely manner, and have not received any claims to date," it said in a regulatory filing.

The key focus of the survey appears to have been to verify deductions we have previously claimed u/s 80JJAA of Income Tax Act, 1961, a section which incentivises new employment generation, it said.

Claiming that it has been 100 per cent compliant tax payer, the company said that it paid a total of Rs 2,900 crore in tax and statutory contributions to the government in FY21, which represents, 12 times the company's normalized profit for the year, or 26 per cent of its revenue.

"We maintain a scrupulous record of our financial dealings, and contribute towards nation-building as a responsible business," it said.

Saying that its claims under section 80JJAA are entirely in line with the letter, spirit and intent of the law, and aligned with prevailing industry practices, it added: "We further refute any allegations of 'concealment' of income. The queries raised to date by the Income Tax department are interpretational in nature,"

Quess added that it will continue to cooperate with the department even as it stands committed to "vigorously defending" its interpretation using all recourse available.

In a Finance Ministry on Tuesday said in a statement that the IT Department has unearthed concealed income of Rs 880 crore during raids on a leading manpower services provider in Bengaluru. The ministry, however, did not divulge the name of the concerned company.

It added that the assessee has been claiming huge deduction u/s 80JJAA of Income-tax Act, 1961 which incentivises new employment generation, subject to fulfilment of certain conditions such as emoluments paid to the employee (which should be less than Rs 25,000 per month) and number of days of employment, among others.

During the course of the survey operation, evidence of tax evasion was gathered regarding wrongful claims of deduction u/s 80JJAA of Income-tax Act, 1961, the statement had said.