The investigation wing of the Income-Tax department on Thursday launched a massive search operation and carried out searches at 50 locations of those businessmen who issued bogus bills, fake purchase and sale vouchers to diamond merchants and others. The raids are in line with a similar operation carried out in Surat where dozens of premises were raided. I-T sources said that hundreds of I-T officials raided offices and houses of diamond businessmen in Pancharatna building, Bharat Diamond Bourse building at Bandra-Kurla Complex, Prasad Chambers, Opera House, Zaveri Bazar and Govandi. “We have conducted searches on businessmen and business houses that issue bogus bills, cash against cheque and other fake vouchers to diamond merchants and others,” said an Income-Tax official. The probe also revealed that some fake firms were floated to issue bills and vouchers, which is done to increase sale-purchase on paper. “We are looking at how much evasion of taxes has occurred due to these fake transactions. Based on this we will calculate their tax liability,” the officer added. A senior I-T official said, “The raids were not on diamond merchants, but against those who provide accommodation, entries of diamonds to merchants and others in Mumbai and Surat without proper accounts.” Some businessmen alleged that the I-T department was deliberately conducting the raids against the backdrop of Gujarat CM Narendra Modi’s recent comments that “some persons are taking notes about who meets Modi and that person will be the next target of the I-T department. However, rubbishing the allegation, an I-T official said that the raids were in continuance with those in Kolkata and Jaipur.
