VISAKHAPATNAM/SRIKAKULAM: Income Tax officials on Thursday raided mineral export companies and real estate firms in Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam districts to probe alleged tax evasion, once again sparking a strong criticism from the ruling TDP, which alleged witch-hunting by the Centre to ‘damage the image of the State and frighten investors’ by conducting frequent I-T raids on investors.
I-T officials reportedly drawn from neighbouring Telangana and Odisha and also from Chennai and Bengaluru reached Visakhapatnam on Wednesday night itself.
Assisted by local I-T officials, around 10-15 teams left the Income Tax Department office at MVP Colony in Visakhapatnam in the wee hours of Thursday and conducted the raids in the two districts.
The I-T sleuths raided Transworld Garnet India Pvt Ltd (TGI) company and its offices situated at Duvvada - Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone.
A senior Telangana TDP leader has a stake in the TGI, a logistics company, and allegedly exporting beach minerals, sources said. The I-T officials reportedly found irregularities in exports and seized some incriminating documents. Some other teams went to the Navayuga Constructions office to check records. Another team searched records in the residences of two Charted Accountants -- S Murali Krishna and Raghavendra Rao -- at MVP Colony amid police security.
The I-T officials seized some documents from the two Chartered Accountants. The CAs are reportedly working for the two companies. Simultaneously, some I-T officials went to the GST Commercial Tax Department office at Arilova to check records related to their raids.
Several realtors also came under the scanner of the I-T sleuths apart from Navayuga Constructions. However, the I-T officials remained tight-lipped over the raids and did not disclose anything about the raids or seizures.
Meanwhile, in Srikakulam, the I-T officials conducted searches at different places, including the house of TDP leader and AP State Housing Board Director Nadukuditi Eswara Rao alias NER at Nadikuditipalem in Ranasthalam mandal and the TGI mining unit at Satiwadapalem village in Gara mandal.
A team of income tax officials comprising six members from Telangana and Tamil Nadu conducted searches at NER’s house from 5 am to till late in the evening. Police assisting the I-T sleuths locked the gates after the officials had entered into the NER’s house.
They examined records and documents at NER’s house. They also went to NER’s petrol pump but found it locked. It is said that NER previously worked as an advisor to Navayuga Construction company.
Another team of income tax sleuths raided the TGI premises at Sativadapalem village of Gara mandal. It is learnt that the factory was transporting beach sand containing minerals to TGI company at Duvvada in Visakhapatnam and the sand, in turn, was being exported to foreign countries through containers.
Reacting to the I-T raids, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, in the collectors’ conference and later at a press conference in Vijayawada, said that the Centre, which is supposed to assist the State to overcome the hurdles, is resorting to damage the image of AP and frighten investors by resorting to frequent I-T raids.
“The leadership at the Centre is tarnishing the image of prestigious institutes like CBI and on the other hand making use of the Central agencies and trying to frighten both leaders and people through series of I-T raids in the State. Such acts of the Centre and its impulsive decisions will leave a negative impact on the country,’’ he said. Naidu said that the I-T raids cannot stop the development of the State.