20 February 2012

I-T sleuths’ raids unearth Rs 27 cr black money


AHMEDABAD: Income tax raids on three Bhavnagar-based ship breaking firms and their associates have unearthed unaccounted for income to the tune of Rs 27 crore.

A team of more than 200 officials on Friday began search-and-survey operations on 40 premises in Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Mumbai and Pune.

The operation covered Bhavnagar-based Leela Ship Breaking, Shree Ram Group of Industries and Bansal Group. The companies are in the business of ship breaking and steel re-rolling.

During the operations, officials seized Rs 2.1 crore cash and gold and silver jewellery worth Rs 3.9 crore. Officials have also sealed 16 bank lockers which will be opened on Monday. "The operation at most the premises continued till late on Saturday," said a senior I-T official. "We have recovered unaccounted for income disclosures from Komal Kant Sharma of Leela Ship Breaking and KK Bansal of Bansal Group. However, investigations are on against a few other associated firms which we suspect have evaded tax through bogus share capitals."

Officials said that during the operation that they recovered documents suggesting that a few associated with the companies have parked unaccounted for income in a real estate projects in the city.

In 2010, the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) had searched 18 premises of 11 ship-breaking companies in Alang.

Investigations revealed that several companies were involved in large-scale under-valuation of excise duty and issuing of fake central value-added tax (Cenvat) invoices. Following the operation, several companies came under the I-T scanner.

Source: The Times of India. 19 February 2012
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-19/ahmedabad/31076476_1_income-tax-raids-cr-black-money-ship-breaking

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