K'taka raids: Rs 94 cr cash, jewellery seized after IT searches govt contractors, realty developers
New Delhi (PTI): The Income Tax department has seized Rs 94 crore in cash as well as gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 8 crore and 30 luxury watches following raids on government contractors and real estate developers in Karnataka and some other states, the CBDT said on Monday.
The searches were launched on October 12 and 55 premises were covered by the department in Bengaluru and some cities in neighbouring Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as well as in Delhi.
"The search has resulted in seizure of unaccounted cash of approximately Rs 94 crore and gold and diamond jewellery of over Rs 8 crore, aggregating to more than Rs 102 crore," the Central Board of Direct Taxes said in a statement.
"Further, a cache of about 30 luxury wristwatches of foreign make were unearthed from the premises of a private salaried employee, not engaged in the business of wristwatches," it said without identifying the accused entities.
A war of words on the matter has broken out between Karnataka's ruling Congress and the opposition BJP following the recovery of the "unaccounted" cash. BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel said the money was linked to the Congress. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has denied the allegation as baseless.
The CBDT frames policies for the Income Tax department.
It alleged that a large amount of "incriminating" evidence in the form of loose sheets, hard copy of documents and digital data was also seized after the raids on the entities and their associates.
The modus-operandi of "tax evasion" detected indicates that these contractors were involved in reducing their income by inflation of expenses by booking bogus purchases, non-genuine claim of expenses with sub-contractors and claiming ineligible expenses, it said.
The "irregularities" detected in utilisation of contract receipts has resulted in generation of "huge unaccounted cash" and creation of "undisclosed" assets, according to the CBDT.
"Evidence indicating inflation of expenses in the form of discrepancies in goods receipt note (GRN) validation have been unearthed during the search and evidence of huge discrepancies in documentation related to purchases booked and actual physical transport of goods have also been unearthed, with regard to bogus transactions with sub-contractors, some of whom were also covered during the search," the statement said.
These contractors, it claimed, were also involved in booking expenses for non-business purposes.
It said evidence related to "liaison expenses" was seized and large-scale unaccounted cash transactions, not found recorded in the account books, have also been found during the search from the premises of the assessees, sub-contractors, and associates, including certain cash handlers.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
