The Income Tax Department conducted searches in two places of ‘leading bullion trader and south India's biggest jewellery retailer and detected undisclosed income of over Rs 1,000 crore in the election-bound Tamil Nadu’, the CBDT said on Sunday. However, it did not reveal the names of those who were searched. The searches were carried out on March 4 at 27 premises in Chennai, Mumbai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchy, Thrissur, Nellore, Jaipur and Indore. Unaccounted cash of Rs 1.2 crore was also seized during the raids, they said.
"The evidences found in the premises of the bullion trader revealed that there were unaccounted cash sales, bogus cash credits from its branches, cash credits in dummy accounts in the guise of advance for purchases; unexplained cash deposits during the demonetisation period, bogus outstanding sundry creditors and huge unexplained stock variations," the CBDT said in a statement.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is the administrative authority for the tax department. In the case of the jewellery retailer, it was found that the taxpayer received and repaid cash loans from local financiers, had given cash loans to builders and made cash investments in real estate properties, the CBDT said.
The assessee had "made unaccounted gold bullion purchases, claimed wrongful bad debts, inflated wastages in conversion of old gold to fine gold and jewellery making, etc,” CBDT added.
"The searches, so far, have resulted in the detection of undisclosed income of more than Rs 1,000 crore," it said.
The Income Tax Department had conducted searches on the premises of a prominent business group in Chennai on February 26. The I-T carried out searches at 11 premises and surveys in nine premises of the group in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Kolkata. The business group was involved in manufacture and sale of Tiles and Sanitary-ware and is also a leader in Tile business.
A release from CBDT said, “Considering the previous turnover, the suppression of income may be in the range of Rs 120 crore. This is in addition to Rs 100 crore of undisclosed income introduced by the group as share premium through shell companies. Total undisclosed income detected so far comes to Rs 220 crore and cash of around Rs 8.3 crore was also found and seized.”
Tamil Nadu will hold single phase elections for its 234 member Assembly on April 6.
(With inputs from PTI)