Tax raid on big manufacturing group in Kolkata unearths Rs 250 crore black money deals

The Income Tax Department has unearthed unaccounted income exceeding Rs 250 crore in a search and seizure operation carried out on a prominent Kolkata- based group, engaged in the manufacturing of Power Transmission and Distribution (T&D) Structures, Steel Structures, Steel ERW Pipes and Polymer products, according to an official press statement issued today.

The search action carried out on August 24, covered 28 premises of the group  spread over West Bengal and Jharkhand.

During the course of the search operation, various methods of tax evasion adopted by the group were unearthed. A large amount of incriminating evidence in the form of documents and digital data demonstrating booking of bogus expenditure and undisclosed cash sales has been found, the Income Tax department disclosed.

Evidence of use of unaccounted cash for acquisition of immovable property and extending unaccounted cash loans has also been 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. These shell entities have been found to have routed back the unaccounted money in the guise of share capital and unsecured loans into the business of the group, the Income Tax Department said.

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, the official statement disclosed.

Further investigations are still in progress.