Investigation Wing unearths tax evasion of over Rs 22 crore
   Date :10-Oct-2020

Investigation _1 &nb
The unremitting efforts of Income Tax Department (Investigation Wing) in State to plug in revenue deficit by tightening its noose around tax evaders’ once again yielded rich dividends, when tax sleuths unearthed a massive tax evasion to the tune of Rs 22 crore following over 30-hours survey operations on Phil Coal Benefication Private Limited (PCBPL), a flagship company of Phil Group in Chhattisgarh. The group evaded its tax liability by diverting the unaccounted income as share premium investment into bogus companies during the past four years.
 
It is pertinent here to recall that a team of 16 tax sleuths from Income Tax Department’s Investigation Wing had mounted concurrent survey operations over multiple office premises of Bilaspur-based Phil Group promoted by Praveen Jha and Pradeep Jha respectively.
 
The group is involved in the business of Coal Washing, Coal Trading and Coal Transportation both by Road & Rail in the states of Chhattisgarh & Madhya Pradesh.
 
“During the survey, the department microscopically investigated the transaction and stock position of the group and its business affiliates, suspected to have concealed income. Subsequently, the tax enforcers succeeded in unearthing huge tax evasion done by the group through ‘accommodation entries’ in Kolkata-based shell companies in a graded manner during past four fiscals,” a taxman, who was part of the operations, told The Hitavada requesting anonymity.
 
According to this tax enforcer, the amount of concealed income was calculated on the basis of discrepancies in the annual returns, books of account, transaction, apart from the verification of stock of raw material and finished good. “Incriminating documents pertaining with routing and re-routing of unaccounted income to Kolkata-based companies and creation of shell companies have also been found and seized,” he added.
 
A team of 16 officials led by Investigation Wing’s two Assistant Directors Ashutosh Singh (Raipur) and M L Meena (Bilaspur) took part in the surveys, even as the entire proceeding of operation was overseen by Joint Director (Investigation) Siddhartha Meena. “The survey conducted under Section 133 (A) of Income Tax Act was winded up sometime before midnight on Friday since taxmen were closely examining the financial trails of suspicious investment done into shell companies and all just to ascertain the tax liability and extent of evasion of tax,” the sources added.
“As far as survey operations were concerned, the department intends to create a relationship of mutual trust and confidence with the tax payers. But at the same time, we are duty-bound to collect due taxes on true income and all our efforts are directed towards this objective,” observed a senior I-T official, who took part in the survey operations conducted on Phil Group.