Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The income tax (I-T) department has detected tax evasion of crores of rupees during its recent survey. It had conducted survey in Pipariya and Morena. Along with this, it cracked a whip in cases of bogus refund cases in Rajgarh, Dewas, Rau (Indore), etc. The survey against a renowned jeweller in Pipariya revealed tax evasion of Rs 15.09 crore. The evasion was done through fraudulent practices such as unaccounted transactions and unaccounted investment in property.
Likewise, a major food processing and trading business in Pipariya was found suppressing receipts and inflating expenses to evade taxes. The discrepancies led to the disclosure of Rs 6 crore in suppressed income from one business. Apart from this, the survey against a mustard oil manufacturing company located in Morena culminated in the disclosure of Rs 7 crore on account of overstock. During the course of survey, the I-T team had to encounter attack from bees which disrupted the proceedings for a while.
Various kinds of malpractice exposed
The I-T team action to detect bogus refund cases in Dewas, Rajgarh, Rau (Indore) exposed various kinds of malpractices. During the crackdown in bogus refund cases linked to salaried persons, the I-T department found that the consultants were facilitating the claim of inapplicable deductions in Income Tax Returns for the sake of commission. The consultants charged a commission ranging from 8-10% of the refund amount, with some charging as high as 50%. Financial transactions related to these fraudulent claims were traced through banking channels. The most commonly misused provisions included deductions under section 10 and interest claims on housing loans.
The fraudulent refund cases were also uncovered in Chhattisgarh as well. Overall, preliminary tax evasion amounting to approximately Rs 22.05 crore involving 3926 ITRs was detected in just four surveyed cases with total income escapement expected to be significantly higher. The I-T department found that fraudulent practices have infiltrated smaller towns such as Dewas, with 3,200 fraudulent ITRs, followed by Rajgarh (230) and Rau (1321).
Construction firm made bogus purchases
In the survey against a construction firm in Raipur, engaged in infrastructure projects, was found involved in bogus purchases, inflated expenses and suspicious transactions with sub-contractors. The company admitted to an undisclosed income of Rs 37 crore.
