BHOPAL: The income tax department on Wednesday began raids at 17 premises of a business group which operates chain of car/automobile showrooms and also has stakes in real estate sector. The raids were carried out at the group’s premises in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
According to the income tax department sources, the searches started at 17 premises in Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Raipur and Kanpur on Wednesday.
Out of the 17 raided premises, 12 are located in Bhopal, two in Indore and one each in Raipur, Jabalpur and Kanpur. All the raided premises are associated with businesses run by the My Car group, which is owned by the father-son duo Saurabh and Rishabh Garg.
The raids are outcome of income tax surveillance of the business group since a long time following specific intelligence inputs about black money having been parked in their businesses, including car showrooms and real estate business in the post-currency demonetization period of November-December 2016.
Several incriminating documents have been seized during the raids, which are likely to lead to significant tax evasion which might run into crores of rupees, IT department sources in Bhopal told The New Indian Express.
The group was under the IT scanner right since IT department crackdown in 2016-end against jewellery businesses which had helped in buying jewellery through demonetized Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes in MP and Chhattisgarh.
The Bhopal-based showroom of a Kolkata-based jeweler group was raided in November-December 2016 as part of the crackdown against those jewellers who helped convert demonetized currency into jewellery in the post-demonetization period. During the investigations at that time an individual connected with management of the jewellery showroom also came under the taxman’s scanner. It was found that same individual was linked to the businesses of My Car group also.
Under the scanner particularly is sale of cars by the My Car group for cash during the currency demonetization period, IT department sources added.