Income Tax Department conducts searches in Gujarat

 

Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
New Delhi, 23rd August, 2022

                                                         PRESS RELEASE

Income Tax Department conducts searches in Gujarat

The Income Tax Department carried out a search and seizure operation on
09.08.2022 on a business group primarily engaged in manufacturing and trading of
ceramic tiles. The search action covered a total of 36 premises, spread across Rajkot,
Morbi, Ahmedabad, Raipur, Guwahati, Gurgaon, and Kolkata. The search operation
also covered persons engaged in providing finance.

During the course of the search operation, various incriminating evidences in the
form of documents and digital data have been found and seized. The initial analysis of
these evidences 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, under invoicing of sales and booking of bogus purchases. The group
has also been found to be involved in layering of unaccounted sums through bogus
unsecured loans from related parties and share capital from Kolkata-based shell
companies.

Further, several evidences indicating the group’s involvement in routing of the
unaccounted funds into the regular books of account using accommodation entries
provided by a Gujarat based person engaged in providing finance, have also been
found.

So far, the search action has resulted in unearthing of unaccounted transactions
exceeding Rs. 300 crore including cash loans of more than Rs. 100 crore.
Further investigations are in progress.

(Surabhi Ahluwalia)
Pr. Commissioner of Income Tax(OSD)
(Media & Technical Policy)
Official Spokesperson, CBDT