I-T department surveys Yash Birla companies

The Income Tax (I-T) department on Tuesday initiated a survey and search operations of at least five companies belonging to the Yash Birla group in different locations simultaneously in Mumbai and Delhi.

A top I-T official said: “The department was carrying out surveys of some of the companies in connection with probable tax evasion, as the declared income seems to be disproportionate to the assets and turnover.

It is a joint operation carried out by officials from Delhi and Mumbai on 20 locations. And the survey involving the scanning and examining of all books of accounts of the five companies, may take a minimum of two to three days.”

Apart from the offices, I-T teams are also carrying out searches in the residences of the company’s top officials in the two cities.

No response

Repeated calls at the head office of the Yash Birla group of companies failed to elicit any response. The 150-year-old group which reportedly has a turnover of Rs 3,000 crore has nine companies publicly listed.

According to its website the group has interests in sectors as diverse as auto, engineering, steel pipes, machine tools, iron castings, pumps, electrical appliances to health, wellness, lifestyle, education, travel and information technology.