India's lavish weddings under I-T dept lens for over Rs 7,500 crore undisclosed funds: Report

Lavish Indian weddings are renowned globally for their grandeur and grand celebrations that start a few days ahead of the wedding and continue till the final W-Day. These lavish weddings often feature Bollywood celebrities and elaborate arrangements costing crores of rupees. However, these larger-than-life celebrations are now under the scanner of the Income Tax (I-T) department for alleged misuse of unaccounted cash. 

According to a report in the Economic Times, the I-T department has initiated a probe into approximately 20 top wedding planners in Jaipur, suspecting that over Rs 7,500 crore of undisclosed funds have been spent in the past year on extravagant weddings.  

The report said that a network of  mule accounts, hawala agents, and shadowy entry operators are generating fake bills with partners in Hyderabad and Bengaluru coming together in a trade that flourishes on lavish weddings.

The I-T department are conducting search operations which began earlier this week and will continue over next several days, the report said.

The probe aims  to trace cash transactions, which reportedly constitute 50-60 per cent of the total expenses for these weddings. The authorities are also examining the money trail of foreign destination weddings, where private jets are booked to transport guests and celebrities to exotic locations, the report said.

The report quoted Rajesh P Shah, partner at Jayantilal Thakkar & Company, specialising in tax and FEMA matters, saying that the tax department would compare the amount officially spent vis-a-vis the number of guests and the scale of the event. 

The publication reported that I-T department’s findings indicated that Jaipur planners are the kingpins with planners in other cities reaching out to them to organise events.

The news report quoted an I-T official as saying luxury clients approach prominent local event planners, who then rely on Jaipur planners to manage the entire operation. These planners often accept cash payments, aligning with client preferences, the official mentioned.

The publication reported that third-party operators are used to legitimise payments through fake billings. These bills, issued by GST-registered entities, are used to claim fraudulent input tax credits. Initial leads for the investigation were derived from these fictitious transactions.   

The report added that  foreign destination weddings involve greater complexities due to strict forex regulations.