Huge data, PAN cards seized from Tax Consultants
Army, Police personnel involved in majority of cases
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Mar 19: The Investigation Wing of the Income Tax Department today conducted searches at 10 locations in Jammu and Punjab in connection with fraudulent refund claims mostly involving Army and Police personnel and laid hands on huge data, PAN cards and other documents.
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Official sources told EXCELSIOR that on the basis of credible information about bogus refund claims the Investigation Wing of the Income Tax Department simultaneously carried out searches at 10 locations mostly in the Cantonment Boards in Jammu and Punjab.
As far as Jammu is concerned, searches were conducted in the premises of two Tax Consultants in Reasi namely Gaurav Bansal of Punjab and Mohd Maroof of Reasi. From their premises, the sleuths of the Investigation Wing of Income Tax Department seized computer data, large number of PAN cards and other documents mostly belonging to the Army and Police personnel.
“Instead of guiding the assessees about strict compliance of the provisions of the Income Tax Act, these Tax Consultants were found indulging in misleading the clients mostly Army and Police personnel in order to avail fraudulent refunds”, sources informed, adding “most of the clients whose information was obtained by the IT sleuths during the searches at the premises of Tax Consultants were not at all entitled for any refund but they had obtained thousands of rupees as refunds from the Income Tax Department by showing fraudulent expenses or by exaggerating deductions”.
In response to a question, sources said, “fraudulent refund claims cannot be taken without the connivance of the concerned Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) of the Government establishments as such Investigation Wing of the Income Tax Department will probe this aspect also and thereafter action will be taken against the involved DDOs as well”.
“These Tax Consultants were indulging into this illegal activity during the past quite long time and large number of Army and Police personnel have illegally obtained benefits. Now, the Investigation Wing will conduct detailed scrutiny of the impounded data and documents and thereafter all the cases will be dealt with strictly as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act”, sources further said while disclosing that filing false or exaggerated claims for refunds is a punishable offence, which can lead to severe penalties and prosecution.
From time to time, the Income Tax Department conducts awareness programmes highlighting the consequences of fraudulently claiming refunds and even through advisories the assessees are cautioned against filing the IT returns with false claims seeking exemptions and deductions. However, despite this many Government employees with the connivance of Tax Consultants are still indulging in this illegality.
The serious consequences of the fraudulent claims are rigorous imprisonment for a term ranging from three months to seven years along with fine, attachment of bank accounts of violators of the Income Tax Act to recover the fraudulently claimed amounts, detailed scrutiny, which result in levying of tax along with hefty penalty.
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