IT's earnings through unaccounted assets rise by 110 pc

Pune, Apr 13 (UNI) The Directorate General of Income Tax (Investigation), Pune said, the total seizure of unaccounted assets during the financial year 2005-06, have increased by 110 per cent over the last year and surrender of concealed income increased by 85 per cent.

The Directorate conducted search and seizure actions in 40 groups covering 287 premises, which included diverse economic activities like education, money lending, construction and building materials, manufacturing of steel, terri-towels, rice milling, cable operators, trading in agricultural goods and jewellery.

IT Additonal Director Shishir Agarwal, in a release here today, gave statistical details of searches/surveys. The cases taken up for search and seizure action represents a shift in emphasis towards investigating cases of high tax evasion and cases having social relevance.

In the number of searches, there was a mere increase of 38 per cent, the release said.

During the course of search on two prominent groups in Pune, engaged in jewellery business, the defaulters offered to tax unaccounted income of Rs 15 crore. In a follow-up survey, further unaccounted income of Rs 1.30 crore was found, which was also surrendred by them.

Unaccounted cash of Rs 2.24 crore was seized along with FDRs and gold bars from a Bhiwandi-based group engaged in construction of godowns and industrial complexes, which admitted concealed income of Rs 20 crore.

Similarly, unaccounted cash of Rs 2.75 crore was also seized from a Nashik-based business house engaged in manufacturing of steel ingots from scrap. The group admitted concealed income of Rs 4.71 crore.

A Jalna-based group, engaged in the business of manufacturing sponge iron and MS ingot bars, disclosed unaccounted income of Rs 25.50 crore on account of bogus long-term capital gains earned in Penny stocks dealings.

Two groups at Pune also surrendered Rs 2.40 crore and Rs 1.70 crore in similar bogus penny stock deals, when searched.

Enquiries have been initiated in respect of other persons who have similarly purchased bogus long-term capital gains out of which admission of unaccounted income of about Rs 4.8 crore has been made by different assessees at Pune, the release said.

Searches conducted on assessees based in relatively smaller towns, also yielded good results.

Search on a Aurangabad-based group engaged in construction activities, led to seizure of assets worth Rs 1.60 crore and admission of concealed income of Rs 6.36 crore.

An assessee engaged in manufacturing, trading and export of terri-towels and napkins at Solapur, admitted concealed income of Rs 2.51 crore. A group of rice millers searched at Kolhapur surrendered unaccounted income of Rs 3.01 crore.

''Operation lifestyle'' surveys were conducted in 27 entities engaged in lifestyle related items like furniture, interior decorators, electronic goods, art galleries, event managers, with a view to identify high spenders and match their spending with the tax paid incomes. Enquiries are in progress in this regard.

Irregularities were also detected in the accounts of the entities surveyed.

In the case of one leading architect and interior decorator from Nagpur who executed projects worth Rs 80 crore, it was noticed that no books of accounts were maintained and only a small income was shown, the release said.

Unaccounted income of Rs 70 lakh and Rs 50 lakh were admitted by two banquet hall owners in Thane.

Survey action u/s 133 (A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 were also conducted on some prominent builders at Pune and Thane, who indulged in misuse of provisions under section 80IB.

Major violation of eligibility conditions were found in respect of cases wherein the total deduction claimed aggregated to over Rs 50 crore.

A firm engaged in land development at Vasai and Palghar was surveyed and it was found to have concealed taxable income of Rs five crore arising out of transfer of its liabilities and assets to a sister concern. This was surrendered by the assessee as a result of survey, the release added.

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