TN: IT Dept seizes cash worth Rs 32.6 crore, 10 kg gold during search operation

The Income Tax (IT) department seized unaccounted cash worth Rs 32.6 crore and approximately 10 kilograms of gold in a search action covering 20 premises, including residences, factories, and offices, of a company in a tier-3 city in Tamil Nadu on Sunday, November 17. During the course of the search operation, the IT team also found that "the company has systematically inflated its expenditure using bogus or fabricated invoices." Further investigation is underway. 

The operation was started by the IT Department on November 15 against a company involved in the business of manufacturing certain specialised materials that are supplied to the health sector in India and abroad, according to a press release by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Sunday. Further, by showing such "non-existent expenditures" in its books of account, the company and its promoters had kept on suppressing the actual income over many years, according to the release.

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"It was found that the company would pay for such bogus expenses by cheque or RTGS and then receive the cashback. The unaccounted income so generated has been deployed by the company's promoters into investments in immovable properties by making unaccounted payments, further investments in the business itself as share capital and in fixed Bank deposits, cash, and other valuables," the release added. The undisclosed income of the company and its promoters is estimated at about Rs 435 crores, as per reports.

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Rs 9.55 crore seized in Pune

On November 6, the Income Tax Department made a high case seizure after conducting a search in the case of a businessman in Pune. During the search, unaccounted cash amounting to Rs 9.55 crore was found and seized. This is the highest cash seizure in Pune by the Income Tax Department to date.

The search was conducted on November 4 at the residence of the businessman. The search was conducted after intelligence information was received on the same that the businessman was in possession of a large amount of cash at his residence and that this cash was likely to be moved within a short span of time.

"In a swift action, some preliminary discreet enquiries were made to ascertain the availability of cash and a single warrant was executed to search the residence of the individual, along with survey under Section 133A at his business premises," read a statement from Official Spokesperson, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The statement added that the assessee is in the business of construction sub-contracting and real estate activities. Investigations in the case are still under progress.

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(with ANI input)