After the searches on a Gujarat Based Diamond Traders the Income Tax Department has unearthed unaccounted sale and purchase of diamonds worth over Rs 500 crore.
The agency initiated a search and seizure operation on September 22 at several premises of a Gujarat-based diamond manufacturer and exporter “based on intelligence input about tax evasion.”
Over 23 premises in Gujarat’s Surat, Navsari, Morbi, Wankaner and Maharashtra’s Mumbai were searched by the tax officials.
UNACCOUNTED DATA SEIZED
The I-T officials claim that they have seized a large volume of unaccounted data which was allegedly kept at secret locations under the custody of its “trusted employees” in Surat, Navasari and Mumbai.
“The data includes proof of unaccounted purchases, unaccounted sales, taking accommodation entries for purchases against which cash is received, the movement of such cash and stock through angadia firms, keeping the unaccounted cash with angadias, investment of such unaccounted income for purchase of property and stock for the last five years,” said the tax department in a statement.
According to the investigators, it is suspected that the owners of the group allegedly made unaccounted purchase and sale of small polished diamonds of about Rs 518 crore over the last few years.
“Further, the data reveals that the assessee has sold more than Rs 95 crore of diamond scrap in cash generated from its manufacturing activities, which remains unaccounted for and represents its income. The assessee, over these years, has accounted for the sale of about Rs 2,742 crore of small diamonds in its books, against which, a substantial part of purchases were made in cash, but the purchase bills were taken from accommodation entry providers,” added the statement.
The I-T department claims that the group was also making its major purchases of rough diamonds through imports and making export sales of finished bigger diamonds through its company registered in Hong Kong, which is allegedly controlled and managed from India.
“The data reveals that the assessee has made purchases of Rs 189 crore and sale of Rs 1040 crore in the last two years through this entity,” they said.
During the search, according to the I-T officials, unaccounted cash and jewellery worth Rs 1.95 crore has been seized and unaccounted diamond stock of 8900 carats worth Rs 10.98 crore has been detected.
A large number of lockers allegedly belonging to the group have been identified, which have been placed under restraint by the agency.