Income Tax Officials raided 4 Builders of Nodia; Unaccounted Cash worth Rs.1,500 crore recovered

The Income tax department formed 40 teams of up to 250 officials to undertake searches at locations associated to four Noida-based construction businesses, including Bhutani Infra, Group 108, Advent and Logix, on tax fraud charges.

After carrying out a 6-day search at all locations associated with the companies, Income Tax officers discovered unaccounted cash worth more than Rs. 1,500 crore.

The Department termed the operation ‘Mahakal’, which targeted four corporations that were evading taxes by selling commercial premises. The Income Tax officials also raided two broker companies.

Officers found two pen drives hidden by Bhutani Group employees, each containing information about the organisation receiving a large sum of money.

The group got cash of Rs. 429 crore during the financial years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22. Data acquired from the pen drives revealed that the Bhutani Group accepted an unaccounted cash amount of Rs. 595 crore from the financial year 2019-20 to the present.

Additionally, officials taped comments from employees of the Bhutani group. In their statements, the key people admitted to collecting cash payments in group transactions. The business offered ‘Assured Cash Return’ and ‘Brokerage in Cash’ to its investors and brokers.

The entire tax evasion operation hinged around the Assured Cash Return programme. The appealing advertisement guaranteed investors monthly payments towards the purchase of space, ensuring a significant return until possession.

The scheme was used for tax evasion, as disclosed by the agreements. According to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) norms, the scheme is legal, but investors should avoid it to avoid legal consequences.