New Delhi The Income Tax department Thursday conducted search and seizure operations against a pharmaceutical wholesaler at five locations in the Kashmir valley.
The group was allegedly charging huge premium on life-saving drugs and making extra-normal profits which were being used for investment in real estate in Srinagar.
“The search action has yielded incriminating documents and digital evidence that suggest huge concealment of income by the promoter and his family members”, The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) which conducted the raids said in a press release.
The CBDT did not disclose the name of the pharma wholesaler, however media reports said the searches were conducted at the premises of North Point Pharmaceuticals, owned by a family which is also related to Imran Raza Ansari, former minister in PDP-BJP coalition government.
Apparently, Rs 3.08 crore in transactions of two pieces of land in Srinagar has been earned by the group, which has not been disclosed in the returns of income, the Department said, adding that the seized digital evidence in the form of hard disk indicates that a part of the sales proceeds, approximating 10 per cent of the turnover, are kept outside the books of accounts to suppress profits. The search has also led to unearthing of an undisclosed bank account in the name of a family member of the promoter of the group in the J&K Bank at the Allamgiri Branch in Srinagar.
The group has been allowed restructuring of its debt owed to J&K Bank, whereby 50 per cent of its monthly interest repayment is waived. Prima facie, the debt has been restructured in a manner that defies normal commercial transaction norms, the release stated.
“The proceeds in this bank account are apparently used to channel unaccounted income earned in the pharmaceutical business. Three bank lockers of the group have also been found in the search and their operation is likely to yield more incriminating evidence against the group,” CBDT said.
The group had deposited cash of Rs 47.20 lakh in the old demonetised currency during the demonetisation period. The source of this cash remains unexplained, it added.
Income tax team was assisted by the Jammu and Kashmir police and the CRPF and the raids were carried out at the business complex in the upmarket Karan Nagar and another premises of the family at Alamgiri Bazar in the downtown Srinagar.
The income tax officials maintained that Thursday’s raids were carried out on a business family and were in no way connected to Imran Raza, a politician who switched over to People’s Conference led by Sajad Lone after BJP pulled out of PDP led coalition.
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