Income Tax Department conducts searches in Kerala, West Bengal

The Income Tax Department has carried out search and seizure operations on November 5, in the case of a well-known self-styled evangelist of Thiruvalla in Kerala and his group of various trusts that enjoy exemption under the Income-tax Act, 1961 as charitable/religious trusts.

The group operates places of worship, a number of schools and colleges across the country, a medical college and a hospital in Kerala. The action covered 66 premises located in Kerala, Tamilnadu, West Bengal, Karnataka, Chandigarh, Punjab and Telangana.

The searches were carried out as credible information was received that the group has received donations from foreign countries ostensibly for helping the poor and the destitute and for evangelical purposes, but was actually siphoning out such tax-exempted funds in cash to engage in unaccounted cash transactions for personal and other illegal expenses in real estate transactions.

In another case, the Income Tax Department has carried out searches in the case of one prominent coal trader of West Bengal having premises in Raniganj, Asansol, Purulia, and Kolkata.

The searches were based on intelligence gathered, which indicated that large scale unaccounted cash was being generated and used for various purposes.

The searches have led to the seizure of documents indicating that companies of the assessee group held bogus investments in unquoted equity shares of paper concerns to the magnitude of around Rs. 150 crores, out of which investments of around Rs. 145 crore have been sold.

These sale transactions were found to be sham transactions and have been admitted by the assessee in the statement recorded during the search.