Rs 870-cr black money unearthed in IT raids on Bengaluru liquor firm

New Delhi: The Income Tax department has detected undisclosed income of over Rs 870 crore in its raided at a "major" Bengaluru-based liquor manufacturing group, the CBDT said on Thursday.

The searches were carried out on February 9 at 26 locations across the country. "In all, the search and seizure action has resulted in the detection of total undisclosed income of Rs 878.82 crore," a statement issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said. "This group has a huge land bank which is being developed into residential and commercial properties with a builder based in Bengaluru," it said.

"The searches have resulted in detecting incriminating evidences relating to concealment of income of more than Rs 692.82 crore on account of joint development projects with a major builder based in Bengaluru," it said. The group companies have "fraudulently" claimed expenses amounting to Rs 86 crore.

"In respect of their liquor business, unaccounted sales amounting to Rs 74 crore have been detected from one of their liquor manufacturing plants based in Kerala. The group companies have also claimed bogus expenses of Rs 17 crore in their business entities," the statement said.

The directors of the group have incurred unexplained expenditure of Rs 9 crore attracting the provisions of Section 69C (when expenditure is deemed to be the income of the assessee, no allowance of the same can be claimed as business expenditure) of the Income-tax Act, it claimed.

"There are large number of investments made in benami properties in the names of their employees and associates for several years," the statement said.

The CBDT said a total of 35 "suspected benami properties" in the names of the relatives of the promoters of the group and associates, valued at more than Rs 150 crore, have been identified. There are also evidences of foreign assets in the name of a director of the group company, it added.