Tax evasion: I-T Dept searches premises of Kolkata-based group

Kolkata: The Income-Tax (I-T) Department on Monday said that it has initiated a search and seizure operation on a prominent Kolkata-based group, engaged in manufacturing TMT steel bars and construction material.

The search covered more than 20 premises spread over West Bengal and Odisha and unearthed various methods of tax evasion adopted by the group. A large number of incriminating documents and digital data demonstrating high value unaccounted cash payments, unaccounted cash purchase and sales, suppression of production, were seized.

The I-T department said that a preliminary analysis of these revealed that many shell companies are operating under the group. "These shell entities were found to have routed back their unaccounted money in the guise of share capital/unsecured loan into books of account. Such modus operandi has been admitted by one of the key persons of the group," the I-T Department said.

As per information, the search has resulted in the seizure of Rs 75 lakh unaccounted cash and jewellery worth Rs 2.26 crore while certain bank lockers have been placed under restraint. The search operation also uncovered unaccounted income of around Rs 100 crore.

I-T Department also said that recently they had initiated search action against a taxpayer in Delhi. The tax payer allegedly created a beneficiary trust and an underlying company in low tax overseas jurisdiction. The residence and business premises of the assessee were covered in the search action.

The search operation revealed that these undisclosed entities in low tax overseas jurisdictions were holding assets worth Rs 40 crore in the form of immovable and movable assets. The taxpayer was availing handling services of a foreign bank having branches in India that offers wealth management, financial planning, asset allocation, equity research, fixed income, investment strategies and fiduciary services.