Undisclosed assets worth around Rs 224 crore have been unearthed by the Income Tax Department after raiding a unicorn startup group in Maharashtra’s Pune and Thane recently. This information was given by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Sunday. The department said in a statement that the raids were conducted on March 9 at 23 premises in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
The group deals in wholesale and retail of construction materials and has an annual turnover of over Rs 6,000 crore, it said. So far, undisclosed cash worth Rs 1 crore and jewelery worth Rs 22 lakh have been recovered. According to the statement, it was found that the group recorded fraudulent purchases in the accounts. Besides, the group deposited unaccounted cash.
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The CBDT said, “Putting this evidence, the directors of the group were questioned in which they disclosed additional income of more than Rs 224 crore in different assessment years. They then offered to pay the outstanding tax liability.” The investigation also revealed that the group also raised foreign funds by issuing shares at a very high premium through the Mauritius route. The CBDT said that a ‘complex’ hawala network of shell companies based in Mumbai and Thane has also been unearthed.