Agra Income Tax Dept Cracks Down Property Registrations more than Rs. 10 Lakh Without PAN

The Income Tax Department, in a recent operation, has uncovered that Agra consists of around 20,000 registrations worth over 10 lakh rupees without a Permanent Account Number (PAN). After this big reveal, the Income Tax officials have started inspecting the registrants, as the Sub-Registrar Offices (SROs) have failed to provide information on such registrations over the past five years.

The tax officials are in doubt about whether people are doing this for the purpose of evading taxes. Initial investigations exposed significant tax evasion by several prominent builders and businessmen; the department has intensified its investigation. The role of registry office officials and employees is also under suspicion. Recently, Income Tax Department teams raided Kirawali and then Sadar Tehsil.

The tax authorities had conducted a survey at the SRO located in Sadar. The department had not sent details of a single registry of more than 10 lakh rupees done without a PAN number since the financial year 2019-20.

Significantly, the city began expanding after 2019, and townships, plots, and colonies began to develop in the expanded area. Consequently, a large number of registrations occurred after this period. Department sources stated that initial investigations indicated the use of PAN numbers for tax evasion. Builders selling large tracts of land also lacked PAN numbers. The department has already obtained PAN numbers in some such cases.