Karnataka: The Income Tax department seized Rs 94 crore cash, gold, and diamond jewellery worth Rs 8 crore and 30 luxury watches of foreign make after raiding some government contractors and real estate developers in Karnataka and some other states. The Central Board of Direct Taxes on Monday in a statement informed that the searches were launched on October 12 and a total of 55 premises were covered by the department in Bengaluru and some cities in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi. Further, CBDT said that incriminating evidence was also found and has been seized.
"The search has resulted in the seizure of unaccounted cash of approximately Rs 94 crore and gold and diamond jewellery of over Rs 8 crore, aggregating to more than Rs 102 crore," the Central Board of Direct Taxes said in a statement.
"Further, a cache of about 30 luxury wristwatches of foreign make were unearthed from the premises of a private salaried employee, not engaged in the business of wristwatches," it said without identifying the accused entities. The Central Board of Direct Taxes frames policies for the Income Tax department.
The modus operandi of tax evasion indicates that these contractors were involved in reducing their income by inflation of expenses by booking bogus purchases, non-genuine claim of expenses with sub-contractors and claiming ineligible expenses.
The irregularities detected in the utilisation of contract receipts have resulted in the generation of huge unaccounted cash and the creation of undisclosed assets. Evidence indicating inflation of expenses in the form of discrepancies in Goods Receipt Note (GRN) validation has been unearthed during the search. Evidence of huge discrepancies in documentation related to purchases booked and actual physical transport of goods have also been unearthed, with regard to bogus transactions with sub-contractors, some of whom were also covered during the search. Further, these contractors were also involved in booking expenses for non-business purposes. Pieces of evidence of claim of liaison expenses have also been found and seized, CBDT said in a statement.
