I-T Dept compares cost of goods sold by consortia to OC

The department had conducted searches at about 30 locations in and around the national capital on October 19 as part of its probe into alleged financial irregularities in works related to the Commonwealth Games. Sources said that the I-T authorities were drawing the comparative chart list in order to ascertain the actual amount of the alleged over or under-invoicing of goods by the consortia.

The department is also scrutinising the account books and documents that it seized during the searches against the firms which include PICO international and Deepali Designs, of which BJP member Sudhanshu Mittal was a Director, G L Litmus and Meroform consortium, Comfort Net and Nussli India consortium and ESG Arena and D-Art furniture.

According to I-T officials, the four consortia had bagged games contracts worth Rs 700 crore to execute overlays and other works for the sporting extravaganza. Sources in the department said the I-T probe will specifically look into the contracts awarded by the Games Organising Committee (OC) and the role of its officials and contractors including charges of bribing.

The department has procured the rate lists from the open market to tally the costs existing in general to those paid for the items by the Committee in order to calculate the actual difference and the consequent tax evasion, the sources said. The department has also prepared a "family tree" of all senior officials, individuals and their relatives who have bagged Commonwealth Games contracts and also of consortia which entered into joint ventures with foreign entities to float firms.

The department's intelligence wing has activated its profiling mechanism as it is preparing a dossier of the financial activities of these stakeholders who will be subsequently confronted with the seized documents and tax return statements.