The Income Tax Department on Sunday said that it conducted a search and seizure operation on a Pune and Thane based unicorn, and found evidence of undisclosed income of Rs 224 crore. The I-T department found evidence of foreign funding and a hawala network of Mumbai and Thane-based shell companies.
It has so far seized Rs 1 crore cash and jewellery worth Rs 22 lakh in the raid.
The group is primarily engaged in the business of wholesale and retail construction material and has a pan India presence, with an annual turnover exceeding Rs 6,000 crore.
A total of 23 premises in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, were covered in the search operation. Incriminating evidence, in the form of hard copy documents and digital data, were seized by the I-T team during the search operation.
Officials said that the evidence indicates that the group has booked bogus purchases, made huge unaccounted cash expenditures and obtained accommodation entries, aggregating to the tune of over Rs 400 crore. The directors of the group, when confronted, admitted to the modus operandi and offered to pay the tax due.
The search action also revealed that the group had obtained huge foreign funding via Mauritius, by issuing shares at exorbitantly high premiums.
Besides, the preliminary probe revealed that the total quantum of accommodation entries provided by shell entities exceeds Rs 1,500 crore. Further investigation into the matter is under way.
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Published 20 March 2022, 12:17 IST