Highlight of the search is seizure of Rs 21 crores of unaccounted cash: Ministry (Representational)
The Income Tax Department has conducted searches at 15 premises of a group in Erode and Chennai in Tamil Nadu, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.
According to the Ministry, the group is a leading civil contractor for government works, specialised in erecting seawave breaks along the coastlines and diversified into bus transport, running marriage halls, and food masala business.
The Ministry said that the highlight of the search is seizure of Rs 21 crores of unaccounted cash.
"It was found that the group indulges in inflation of purchases and other work contract expenses. Such inflated payments made to the suppliers and subcontractors are received back in cash regularly. The unaccounted income thus generated comes to around Rs 700 crores, which is ploughed back into real estate investments and business expansion," read the release.
Out of this, the assessee has admitted to having undisclosed income of Rs 150 crores so far, the Ministry said, adding that overall there is a detection of Rs 700 crores of unaccounted income and a seizure of Rs 21 crores of unaccounted cash as a result of this search.