The Income Tax (I-T) officials have put the business operations of a number of prominent builders, contractors and architects in the State under the scanner after the unearthing of suspected tax evasions amounting to ₹300 crore in recent raids in Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Malappuram districts. Customers who came in contact with such businesspersons or entities for confidential deals are also likely to be exposed on verification of seized documents, including hard disk drives and bank records.
Sources said the bank accounts opened by as many as 10 prominent business groups in the cooperative and scheduled banks had been frozen for further legal actions. The raids netted ₹18 crore in cash from some of the suspected tax evaders. The cash seized were found hidden in their homes and bank lockers, they added.
The raid carried out last week with the field-level support of over 100 I-T officers was the first such comprehensive action against tax evasion in recent times. Some of the suspected locations in Bengaluru were also covered under the special drive. There were other 200 officers who did the background work to help the squads zero in on the suspected firms and individuals to seize documents.
Transaction details
Sources said the squads recovered about 50 hard disc drives carrying the details of suspicious transactions. This was apart from gathering the details of about 1,000 customers suspected of having direct deals with realtors for tax evasion benefits while purchasing flats and apartments, they revealed.
Senior I-T officials said more flash raids will be conducted in the State in the wake of serious irregularities on the part of some of the established business entities. Those who facilitated the illegal deals will be liable to face prosecution measures apart from paying the penalty for the unreported income, they added.
