Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 16: Conveying that nobody can avoid hawk’s eye of the Department, the Income Tax sleuths today carried out surveys in a hotel and three jewellery shops at Ramban town on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and impounded several incriminating documents indicating evasion of tax and subsequent investment in the realty sector.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that Udhampur office of the Income Tax Department was carrying out verifications during the past several months about the evasion of tax by a family having different business concerns in the heart of Ramban town and after getting concrete information about concealment of income, the surveys were planned on the instructions of Income Tax Commissioner, J&K Circle A K Thathai.
After getting green signal from the Commissioner, the IT sleuths today started simultaneous surveys in Hotel Ramban Regency, Verma Jewellers, Nath Jewellers and Kanav Jewellers owned by members of Verma family of Ramban.
“The surveys continued through out the day with IT sleuths laying hands on several incriminating documents indicating evasion of tax”, sources said, adding “the scrutiny of the accounts books and other documents was going till late tonight and concealment of huge income and subsequent investments in immovable properties is likely to come up following completion of scrutiny process”.
During preliminary scrutiny of documents, it came to fore that the family has made huge investment in acquisition of immovable property both in Ramban and Jammu by concealing the income. “It is due to concealment of income and evasion of tax that Hotel Ramban Regency has been constructed by the family”, they said.
“What to talk of disclosing exact income from jewellery shops while filing Income Tax returns, the family has never disclosed even commodities trading business”, sources said, adding “whatever concealment was being made by the family was being diverted to construct and furnish the hotel and purchase immovable property in Jammu”.
In response to a question, they said, “the exact evasion by the family is likely to be worked out by tomorrow evening and thereafter IT Department will chalk out its further strategy”. In the documents, the Hotel Ramban Regency is shown to have been owned by Rekha Verma while as Verma Jewellers by Sachin Verma.
This is for the first time that such a survey has been carried out by the Income Tax Department in Ramban town as this might have been reason for the Verma family to resort to evasion of tax and invest the black money in realty sector.
“By carrying out survey in Ramban town, the Income Tax Commissioner has send a message very loud and clear that nobody can avoid the hawk’s eye of the Department”, sources said while not ruling out such surveys in other district headquarters in the days to come. “There are special instructions from the IT Commissioner to minutely observe the Income Tax returns of the businessmen operating in Ramban like areas so that any attempt on their part to evade tax is timely detected and action taken under the Income Tax Act”, sources added.
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