THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a crackdown on revenue leaks in the commercial service sector, the state goods and services tax (SGST) department’s intelligence and enforcement wing has uncovered a Rs 7.56-crore tax evasion operation across railway station parking facilities in Keralam.
A coordinated state-wide raid conducted on Wednesday targeted 22 major parking contractors operating within Southern Railway premises. Investigators searched 69 locations simultaneously, including corporate offices, residential properties of contractors, and secondary business sites.
Preliminary findings revealed a suppressed turnover of over Rs 42 crore. According to tax officials, operators deliberately understated their actual revenue in monthly GST returns to evade tax liabilities.
Investigators also uncovered the widespread use of multiple unauthorised QR codes to route daily parking fees into off-the-books accounts.
“Digital evidence was retrieved from software databases for 13 contractors, while physical ledgers, registers, and mobile messaging records detailing undisclosed transactions were seized from others,” said an official statement.