Tax department unearths fake billing racket
- Evidence of ‘accommodation entries’ or bogus transactions of more than ₹500 crore have been found in a search operation across 42 locations in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa
NEW DELHI: The Income Tax department has unearthed a fake invoice racket which helped businesses evade taxes by manipulating their accounts with bogus transactions, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement on Tuesday.
Evidence of ‘accommodation entries’ or bogus transactions of more than ₹500 crore have been found in a search operation across 42 locations in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa on Monday, said the statement.
Use of shell firms to generate fake invoices and transactions to manipulate accounts has been a major area of tax fraud that regulatory authorities have been battling for a long time.
The search led to seizure of evidence exposing the entire racket, said the statement. Several shell entities were used for layering of unaccounted money and cash withdrawals against fake bills and unsecured loans, said the statement. CBDT also said that personal staff or employees of the persons involved had been made dummy directors or partners of these shell entities.
The beneficiaries have been found to have made huge investments in real estate properties in prime cities and in fixed deposits worth several hundred crores of rupees, it said. During the search, Rs. 2.37 crore in cash and jewellery worth Rs. 2.89 crore have been found. (ends)
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First Published:27 Oct 2020, 01:25 PM IST
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