The Revenue Tax Department has uncovered alleged tax evasion in raids on the Srinagar-based business group.
New Delhi:
The Revenue Tax Department has uncovered numerous cases of tax evasion allegations after raiding a business group running the “largest private” multi-specialty hospital in Srinagar, the tax authority CBDT said on Sunday.
The search began Friday and covered seven premises, including four flats.
The statement said Rs 82.75 lak in cash and jewelery and gold or silver bars worth 35.7 lakh were seized “as the persons concerned by whose custody they were found were unable to explain the same”.
The department also “sealed” a bank locker found during the raids.
The group’s core business includes running a multi-specialty hospital with over 100 beds, real estate and trading in home consumables, he said.
“The group is in the practice of buying large plots of land in pieces and collecting them. After that, it develops the land and digs up plots and sells them.
“Evidence showing more than 50 per cent of the valuation (above and above the registered value of the property) received in cash by the buyers was seized during the search operation,” the CBDT said.
Such a sale estimate received in cash, he claimed, “never” offered to be taxed.
“The group has made incalculable property transactions of more than Rs 100 Cro in cash since the financial year 2013-14.”
“Payments / investments made through banking channels by parcel buyers are also under investigation as prima-facie verification has shown that the investments were not made using tax-paid income,” she claimed.
Thus, the taxes will be valid not only by the group of sellers but also by the buyers, depending on the facts of the cases, he added.
“There is a significant TDS default on almost all land and parcel purchases and sales,” said the Board, which drafts the policy for the tax department.
The action also “revealed substantial evasion of the stamp duty due to the government in cash paid as the sale price above and above the registered value of the property”.
“Information in this regard will be shared with JK UT’s stamp collection authority throughout the sale consideration, as evidenced by the seized documents and the announcement of district rates according to prevailing market rates,” she said.
The CBDT claimed that individuals associated with the group “received a number of plots / land as gifts from various unrelated individuals and they did not show any income in this result … although the same is charged to be taxed on hands made as income from other sources “.
“Donor cases are also under investigation from the perspective of income tax evasion,” the statement said.
Describing another case of tax evasion allegation, the CBDT said that “one of the taxpayers of this group engaged in the trading of household consumables has made cash purchases of these items worth $ 2 billion in 6 months (FY 2019- 20) in contrast to provisions which mandate payments of more than Rs 10,000 at the same time only through banking channels “.
“Evidence of various benami properties were discovered and seized during the search. The same is under investigation,” she said.
“The printing of invoices by the hospital management is under investigation. The average turnover shown by the hospital is about Rs 10-12 crore since FY 2015-16, however, the seized evidence shows that the current invoices are at least four times more, claimed CBDT.
Evidence showing Rs 3 billion in cash payments, made to various doctors in the current year, was seized during the inspection, she claimed.
