VIJAYAWADA: The Income Tax Department officials are conducting raids on several mineral exporting companies in Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam districts of Andhra Pradesh to look into alleged tax evasion by the companies.
According to sources, several teams of IT officials drawn from neighbouring Odisha and also from Bengaluru and Tamil Nadu along with local IT officials are conducting the searches at Special Economic Zone, Duvvada on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam and also in neighbouring Srikakulam district. The teams arrived last night itself, split into eight different teams on Thursday early hours and left to various places from the IT department's Assistant Director's office located in MVP colony of Visakhapatnam.
Sources in IT department said one team is conducting searches at the offices of Transworld Garnet India (TGI), which is into mineral extracting from seashore sand, at Duvvada SEZ and also in Gara mandal of Srikakulam district. At the Duvvada SEZ, the IT sleuths are also conducting raids at the godowns belonging to TGI.
The relatives of a senior TDP leader from neighbouring Telangana state reportedly have a stake in the TGI, sources said.
Another team of IT sleuths is verifying tax records of these companies at the local GST office at Arilova, sources said.
It is also learnt that the IT department officials have summoned a senior Chartered Accountant from Visakhapatnam city, who is said to be looking into the affairs of the TGI, to their office and are questioning him. Raids are also going on at the Balaiah Sastry layout residence of the CA.
More teams are reportedly stationed at the Visakhapatnam IT office for carrying out further raids, sources said.
Meanwhile, IT sleuths are also said to be conducting searches at the residence and businesses of the state housing corporation director N Eswar Rao, a ruling TDP leader, at Nadikudutipalem and Sativadapalem in Ranasthalam mandal from 4 am onwards.
The ruling TDP is crying foul over the series of IT raids on the leaders belonging to the party and alleging political vendetta by the Centre after the TDP snapped ties with the BJP-led NDA and pulled out of the NDA. Recently, IT sleuths conducted raids on the businesses of TDP Rajya Sabha MP CM Ramesh in his native Kadapa district and also in Hyderabad.