Major tax evasion network unearthed in Bengaluru: Illegal transactions worth 100 crore exposed
Bengaluru: The Commercial Taxes Department has uncovered a large-scale tax evasion network in the state capital following a covert operation that lasted 15 days. Officials have detected concealed trade transactions worth approximately 100 crore rupees involving multiple business establishments.
Inspections were conducted in central Bengaluru, including areas like Chickpet, Avenue Road, BVK Iyengar Road, JC Road and SP Road. Through document scrutiny and data analysis, authorities found extensive instances of tax concealment. Further investigations are underway, officials confirmed.
According to the department, several traders purchased goods from New Delhi and other regions without proper billing and later sold them locally without issuing tax invoices. Items identified include electronics, automobile spare parts, gift products and dry fruits. It was also found that actual quantities purchased were significantly higher than what was declared in tax records.
Officials stated that traders dealing in iron, steel, hardware and cement supplied products directly to end customers, while issuing fake bills to contractors in order to evade tax liabilities.
During the operation, many businesses were also found to be operating without GST registration despite having taxable turnover exceeding 40 lakh rupees. Such traders have been warned and instructed to complete mandatory registration immediately.
The department has intensified monitoring of freight movement in and out of city railway stations. At Yeshwantpur Railway Station, officials seized nearly 1,000 bags of gutka, pan masala and dry fruits transported without valid documentation. Additionally, over 75 goods vehicles carrying iron scrap without proper tax invoices were taken into custody.
Authorities have reiterated that strict action will continue against those involved in tax evasion and illegal commercial activities in Bengaluru.
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Ambani, Adani pledge USD 210 bn for India's AI push
New Delhi (PTI): Conglomerates run by billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani committed USD 210 billion investment to creating infrastructure that will help India emerge as an AI development hub.
At the India AI Impact Summit, Ambani announced a Rs 10 lakh crore (about USD 110 billion) investment in artificial intelligence over the next seven years in gigawatt-scale AI-ready data centres in Jamnagar, leveraging up to 10 GW of green power surplus, and a nationwide edge-compute layer integrated with telecom and digital operator Jio's networks to deliver low-latency AI across India.
"Our resolve is clear: make intelligence as ubiquitous as connectivity," he said. "When compute becomes infrastructure, innovation will become inevitable."
Adani, on the other hand, unveiled a USD 100-billion investment to develop renewable-energy-powered, hyperscale AI-ready data centres by 2035 -- one of the world's largest integrated energy-compute commitments.
The initiative is expected to catalyse an additional USD 150 billion across server manufacturing, cloud platforms, and supporting industries, creating a projected USD 250 billion AI infrastructure ecosystem in India.
India must architect its own artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure rather than rely on imports, Adani Group executive director Jeet Adani said on Thursday, warning that AI will redefine national sovereignty.
Other major investments announced at the Summit included USD 50 billion commitment by Microsoft by the end of the decade to expand artificial intelligence access across the Global South. "India, not surprisingly, is one of the largest," its vice chair and president, Brad Smith, said.
The firm had unveiled USD 17.5 billion investment in AI investments in India last year.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a new subsea cable initiative to boost AI connectivity between India, the US and other locations, alongside partnerships for cloud infrastructure platform support to over 20 million public servants across 800 districts.
Yotta Data Services, backed by a real estate group headed by Niranjan Hiranandani, announced over USD 2 billion spend on Nvidia's latest chips in an artificial intelligence computing hub it is setting up just outside the national capital.
While Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) signed up ChatGPT parent OpenAI as its first customer for its data centre unit under the global AI infrastructure initiative Stargate, infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro announced a proposed venture with Nvidia to build AI-ready data centre infrastructure, advanced computing platforms, and ecosystem enablement required to support large-scale AI workloads.
