I-T raids continue at Sri Chaitanya on second day
HYDERABAD: The Income Tax Department continued its searches for the second day at Sri Chaitanya Educational Institutions, suspecting huge tax evasion. Officials reportedly found irregularities in the institute’s financial transactions, particularly in maintaining records of incoming and outgoing payments.
Searches were conducted at multiple locations, including the corporate office in Madhapur, Hyderabad and branches in Vijayawada, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru. Additionally, raids were carried out at the residences of six directors of Sri Chaitanya in various locations across Hyderabad, said sources.
Meanwhile, officials focused their investigation on a key director of the institution, reportedly taking him to Khammam for searches at the branch there, which has drawn significant attention in the probe.
According to sources, the IT teams are scrutinising the bank accounts, financial statements, personal business dealings and firm transactions of the directors and their family members. The agency is also expected to open the bank lockers belonging to the directors and their relatives on Wednesday.
Officials have so far reportedly seized `5 crore in cash and uncovered digital evidence indicating that the institution allegedly used separate software systems — one for fee collection and the other for Income Tax records. However, this has not been officially confirmed yet.
The discrepancies between these records suggest that a significant portion of the fees was collected in cash, while I-T returns reflected a lower amount, leading to I-T officials suspecting tax evasion over the past few years.
It may be recalled that in 2020, the I-T department had conducted raids on Sri Chaitanya institutions, seizing `11 crore in cash over alleged financial irregularities.
With the ongoing probe, officials suspect even greater violations this time.
Sources indicate that large amounts of cash were diverted to other businesses. Officials said that the use of dual software systems for fee collection and tax reporting is a clear violation, as the institution failed to maintain consistent records in its account books and tax filings.