West Bengal: I-T department detects Rs 250 crore 'black' income after raids on business group

(Representative Image)

The Income-Tax Department carried out a search and seizure operation on August 24 on a prominent Kolkata-based transmission tower manufacturing group, it said on September 1. The search action has, so far, led to detection of total unaccounted income of more than Rs 250 crore, officials added.

The group deals with manufacturing of power transmission & distribution (T&D) structure, steel structures, steel ERW pipes and polymer products, etc. The search action covered 28 premises spread over West Bengal and Jharkhand, the I-T department added.

During the course of the search operation, various methods of tax evasion adopted by the group were unearthed, the tax department reveals. Further, it added that a large number of incriminating evidence in the form of documents and digital data demonstrating booking of bogus expenditure and undisclosed cash sales has been found. Evidence of use of unaccounted cash for acquisition of immovable property and unaccounted cash loan, etc. has also been found and seized.

"A preliminary analysis of seized evidence reveals that several shell companies have been utilised by the group to provide accommodation entries to its flagship concerns,"noted I-T department, adding that these shell entities have been found to have routed back the unaccounted money in the guise of share capital/unsecured loan into the business of the group.

In addition, accommodation entries by an entry operator through a web of numerous shell companies aggregating to more than Rs.150 crore have also been detected.

Further investigations are in progress, it said.