1. The Income Tax Department has detected tax evasion of more than Rs 700 crore after it recently raided 60 locations of a Chennai-based conglomerate that is widely being understood as the Chettinad Group.
2. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) which is the administrative authority for the I-T department said its action and further detections were made against a “leading business group operating from Chennai, based on intelligence input about tax evasion.” It added that the group is involved in cement manufacturing, logistics, construction, among others.
3. In a statement to the media on Tuesday, the CBDT said documents related to possession of foreign assets to the extent of Rs 110 crore were detected in the form of fixed deposits, which were not disclosed in the return (income tax return) and will attract action under the Black Money Act.
“As of now, the department has succeeded in detecting evasion of income of over Rs 700 crore,” the CBDT said in a statement on Tuesday. “The highlight of the search includes seizure of unaccounted cash of Rs 23 crore from various locations,” the CBDT said in a statement.
5. The statement went on to add that “details of the actual financial transaction between the searched group and another group for the sale of three infrastructure facilities at various ports were found” and that “complex financial arrangements creating bogus liabilities from their own concerns were also seen to be made, ostensibly, to reduce the capital gains arising out of this transfer.” Capital gains amounting to about Rs 280 crore have allegedly been arrived at.
