The Income Tax (I-T) department unearthed tax evasion to the tune of Rs 70 crore after conducting raids on 15 places in Kanpur and Unnao districts of Uttar Pradesh belonging to two prominent companies owning tanneries and manufacturing leather goods.
After getting information of huge tax evasion, the I-T officers raided premises of Sultan Group of Campanies including Sultan Tanneries Private Limited, Sultan Overseas, and Model Tanners India Pvt Ltd, Model Exims Pvt Ltd.
The two group of companies were evading income tax by floating shell companies and showing bogus and inflated purchases of raw materials. The companies were also accused of fudging their balance sheets by showing huge unaccounted and unsecured loans against actual sale.
Several incriminating documents were seized from their premises suggesting tax evasion, suspicious bank transactions, sale of leather goods without paying taxes, and documents related to unaccounted investments in properties, gold, shares and other companies.
The two companies were on the IT department radar for the last six months. “Till now we have caught income tax evasion of more than Rs 70 crore. The figure may cross over Rs 100 crore when we open their lockers and study documents seized from their premises,” said a senior IT official.
