An undisclosed income of about Rs 220 crore was detected by the Income Tax Department after it raided a leading tile and sanitaryware manufacturer based in Chennai. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement issued on February 27, Saturday, that Rs 8.30 crore cash was seized during the raids on the group engaged in the business of manufacture and sale of tiles and sanitaryware. The group is considered to be a "leader" in tiles business in south India.
The action was carried out on February 26 and a total of 20 premises in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Kolkata were searched and surveyed. "In the course of search, unaccounted sale and purchase of tiles were detected. Details of unaccounted transactions were unearthed in the secret office and the software maintained in the cloud," CBDT said in its statement. It was found that the transactions to the extent of 50% were out of books, the statement added.
"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," it noted. "Total undisclosed income detected so far comes to Rs 220 crore," the CBDT alleged. The statement issued on late Saturday night said the searches were on.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), that frames policy for the tax department, meanwhile, said it was fully prepared to check and monitor the role of money in influencing voters. The department remains committed to track the generation of unaccounted cash and its movement in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, it said. Assembly polls to TN and Puducherry will be held in a single phase on April 6. The vote counting has been scheduled for May 2.
(With inputs from PTI)