Cadbury India booked for tax fraud worth ₹241 crore

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a case against Mondelez Foods Pvt. Ltd (earlier known as Cadbury India Pvt. Ltd), its former executives, and several government officials for alleged misrepresentation of facts to avail area-based tax exemption benefits worth around ₹241 crore in Baddi town of Himachal Pradesh, officials said.

The central agency also held raids at five locations in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, people familiar with the matter said.

Officials said that a preliminary enquiry (PE) filed by the CBI in 2017 was converted into an FIR following a nod from the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). A PE is the first stage of any investigation by the CBI.

According to the FIR filed by the CBI, the 2017 probe revealed that the chocolate maker had proposed a manufacturing unit in Baddi in 2007 in order to avail area-based excise and tax exemption. To avail the same, some members of the executive board of the firm, along with key managers, collectively manipulated records, engaged intermediaries to route bribes to government officials, and covered up evidence, the FIR added.

Cadbury officials, the CBI said, “paid bribes, misrepresented facts, and manipulated records to fraudulently avail area-based exemption benefits (central excise and income tax) in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, knowing fully well that they were not entitled to avail area-based tax exemption benefits”.