Premium

GST tax credit probe: I-T conducts surveys at Zee and L&T offices

The searches are based on alleged tax evasion data submitted by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence to the Income Tax (I-T) department.

"The concerned officials of the Company are providing all the required information and extending complete co-operation," a spokesperson said. (Twitter/Zee)

The Income Tax (I-T) Department Monday conducted surveys at the offices of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Ltd as part of an ongoing tax investigation against the two firms by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), said sources.

A DGGI probe has allegedly found that both Zee and L&T have availed bogus input tax credit under GST. The DGGI is investigating the records of these firms for the last five financial years. “The information gathered by the DGGI was sent to the Income Tax Department even as the GST probe is still on so that it could take timely action,” sources familiar with the development said.

Sources said starting 11 am on Monday, the I-T Department conducted surveys at over 15 locations in the Mumbai and Chennai offices of the companies under Section 133A of the Income Tax Act. Some surveys were also conducted at their associate offices in a few other cities across the country, said sources.

“Officials from the tax department visited the offices of the company with certain queries. The officials concerned of the company are providing all the required information and extending complete cooperation,” the official spokesperson of Zee said. L&T did not comment on the matter.

In the last one month, the DGGI has arrested over 141 people across the country and booked 3,479 entities in 1,161 cases for illegally availing or passing on input tax credit, causing loss to the exchequer of Rs 13,447.95 crore .

At the end of trading on Monday, shares of Zee Entertainment had fallen 2.58 per cent to close at Rs 219.15 a piece, while L&T shares had gained 1.43 per cent to Rs 13,15.55 a piece. The benchmark Sensex at BSE closed 307.82 points or 0.64 per cent up at 48,176.80.

Sponsored | Sharpen Your CTO Edge: Master Strategy, Leadership, and Innovation at ISB Executive Education's CTO Programme

Aanchal Magazine

Aanchal Magazine is Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and reports on the macro economy and fiscal policy, with a special focus on economic science, labour trends, taxation and revenue metrics. With over 12 years of newsroom experience, she has also reported in detail on macroeconomic data such as trends and policy actions related to inflation, GDP growth and fiscal arithmetic. Interested in the history of her homeland, Kashmir, she likes to read about its culture and tradition in her spare time, along with trying to map the journeys of displacement from there. ... Read More

First uploaded on: 04-01-2021 at 13:29 IST