Dainik Bhaskar Group, Which Has Multiple Business Interests, Evaded Taxes on INR 700 Crores, Says Income Tax Department

The Income Tax department Saturday (July 24) said it conducted raids on Thursday (July 22) “on a prominent business group, which is involved in businesses in various sectors, including Media, Power, Textiles and Real Estate, with a group turnover of Rs. 6,000 crore per annum. 20 residential and 12 business premises spread over 9 cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Bhopal, Indore, Noida and Ahmedabad have been covered.”

It further said that the group has not paid income tax on the income of Rs. 700 crores.

Multiple shell companies and fake bills were used to hide this income.

The statement released by the Income Tax department on Saturday (July 24) read “The group has more than 100 companies including the holding and subsidiary companies. During the search, it was found that they have been operating several companies in the names of their employees, which have been used for booking bogus expenses and routing of funds.”

The statement read “Cyclical trading and transfer of funds among group companies engaged in unrelated businesses to the tune of Rs 2,200 crore has been found.”

It further added “The enquiries have confirmed that these have been fictitious transactions without any actual movement or delivery of goods. The tax effect and violation of other laws are being examined.”

Commenting on the state of affairs in Dainik Bhaskar, the statement read “The listed media company "does barter deals" for advertisement revenues, whereby immovable properties are received in place of actual payments.”

Further evidence has been unearthed which is “indicating cash receipts in respect of subsequent sale of such properties”.