I-T dept raids 18 premises of civil contractors in Tamil Nadu; seizes Rs 3 cr unaccounted cash

The Income Tax Department on Wednesday carried out search and seizure operations on two groups of civil contractors in Southern Tamil Nadu, informed the Central Board for Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Thursday.

According to an official release issued by the CBDT, searches and surveys were conducted in 18 premises mainly in Madurai and Ramnad districts.

"Based on intelligence inputs about the existence of cash, which is likely to be distributed for election purposes, searches were mounted on the business groups. The action resulted in the finding of unaccounted cash of Rs 3 crore which was seized," the statement read.

"Other findings include the identification of the fact that the assessee is booking bogus expenses under various heads to reduce the profits. The declared profits were less than 2 per cent of the turnover when in actual accounts the profits exceeded 20 per cent," it read.

"Similarly more than 100 subcontractors were introduced to book expenses to meet illegal payments, and on-money payments for property purchases. These subcontractors introduced, had filed returns of income from the same IP address, and for the first time ever, showing only this receipt as their sole income," it added.

"As a result of the search, unaccounted income of Rs 175 crore has been detected and unaccounted cash of Rs 3 crore has been seized," the statement further said.

Further investigation into the matter is underway.

( With inputs from ANI )