Taxpayers urged to revise fraudulent returns to avoid penalty
The action covered premises in Trichy, Salem, Madurai, Chennai, Vellore, Erode, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Theni, Sivagangai, Pudukkottai, Virudhunagar, and Tirunelveli. The release said that income tax practitioners and intermediaries had assisted thousands of taxpayers in filing returns with inflated or fictitious deductions under various sections of the Income Tax Act, including 80GGC (political donations), 80D (medical reimbursements), 80C (tuition fees), and 10(13A) (house rent allowance). Fraudulent refunds running into several crores were claimed.
The department found that specific email IDs had been created to file these returns in bulk. The intermediaries had reached out to taxpayers — including government employees and serving and retired defence personnel — across Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and Bihar, using closed WhatsApp and Telegram groups and word of mouth.
Incriminating evidence was impounded during the operations, and investigations are ongoing.
The department urged taxpayers not to fall for such schemes. Those who have filed incorrect returns have been advised to file updated or revised returns voluntarily. The release added that such action may help avoid penalties or prosecution, and that assistance would be provided to those coming forward.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
9k I-T returns claimed fake exemptions in Nagpur zone; rectify or face action, say taxmen
Nagpur: The income tax (I-T) department has detected as many as 9,000 returns that were filed to claim fake exemptions from tax liabilities and refunds in Nagpur zone alone. The estimates so far indicate that exemptions to the tune of Rs100 crore were claimed. A large number of such returns were filed by policemen, railway employees, zilla parishad staffers, even as the list includes some private employees too. A sizeable number of filers claimed exemptions by misrepresenting their status as foreign nationals, whose income earned in India is free from tax, said sources privy to the development. The Nagpur zone covers Vidarbha and Marathwada regions. It began with a search on a small-time professional in Gondia assisting salaried persons in filing their tax returns. Going deeper unearthed that not less than 9,000 such returns were filed. The wrongful exemption and deduction claims led the govt to shell out refunds, said sources. The income tax department, however, is giving such filers a chance to correct their mistakes and escape action. The matter has been taken up with the drawing and disbursal officers (DDOs) and the bureaucrats heading the concerned departments. Through them, the employees are being asked to file corrected returns and pay up the taxes or else face action, which includes prosecution, said sources part of the action. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Đây có thể là thời điểm tốt nhất để giao dịch vàng trong 5 năm qua IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo Officers of IPS, IAS, and Railway service cadre have been approached for coordinating with the staffers to file updated returns. "Such filers still have a chance to pay the taxes and get away because the Income Tax Act allows filing updated returns for the preceding four years. Or else, notices for reopening the returns by the department will be issued, and further action would be taken. This can include initiation of criminal action," a source said. TOI had on July 5 reported about taxmen busting a refund scam in Gondia. It was found that a large number of filers had claimed exemption under Section 10(6) of the Income Tax Act in their returns. As the Section deals with foreigners' income, this helped them do away with the tax liability, said sources. In a number of cases, the option 'any other' was clicked for claiming deductions too. Initially, 2,000 returns were found, but further probe took the number to 9,000 in Nagpur zone alone. The action in Nagpur has alerted other zones of the income tax department, and similar actions have been initiated there too. It has also been mooted to build safeguards in the online filing system barring Indian citizens from citing Section 10(6). Now, details of the expenditure may have to be submitted while choosing deductions under 'any other' head. Nation-wide search on to bust fake exemption claims A verification drive was conducted across the states by the income tax department on Monday against individuals and other entities facilitating the claiming of fake exemptions and refunds in the income tax returns. A press release by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) says an organised racket of fraudulent filing of returns was uncovered. The action took place in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh. An analysis revealed rampant misuse of deductions under sections 10 (13A), 80GGC, 80E, 80D, 80EE, 80EEB, 80G, and 80DDB of the Income Tax Act. The fake exemptions were claimed by employees of MNCs, PSUs, govt bodies, academic institutions, and even entrepreneurs. The CBDT stated that following its outreach programmes, nearly 40,000 taxpayers have updated their returns in the last four months, voluntarily withdrawing false claims worth Rs1,045 crore. However, many remain non-compliant, possibly under the influence of the masterminds behind the rackets. The department is now poised to take stern action, including prosecution, against continued fraudulent claims. The current verification is expected to yield crucial evidence, said the release. Rs250 crore fake political donation racket busted The taxmen have unearthed a fake political donation racket worth Rs250 crore in Aurangabad. This involves multiple donations to a lesser-known political party in Aurangabad by salaried individuals as well as businessmen and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs). The donations were rerouted back to the donors through a chartered accountant after taking a cut. The chartered accountant is also under the scanner. Donations to registered unrecognised political parties (RUPs) qualify for deduction from taxable income. In this case, however the same money came back to the donors. The party members and intermediaries took a cut in turn. The taxmen could track down a trail of banking entries which brought the money back to donors, said sources. Aurangabad is covered under the income tax director of investigation at Nagpur.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Ward member, mother found hanging at home
Thiruvananthapuram: In a shocking incident, a panchayat member and his elderly mother were found dead by hanging in the backyard of their residence at Nediyavila in Vakkom on Monday morning. The deceased were identified as Arun V, 42, a Congress functionary and member of Vakkom grama panchayat and chairman of its development standing committee, and his mother Valsala, 71. Kadakkavoor police registered a case and began a probe. A suicide note was also recovered from the spot. The bodies were found around 6am in the first-floor shed of their house, said police. Arun sent a suicide note to his friends via WhatsApp at 2.50am, citing mental distress caused by continuous humiliation and defamation through social media. The message also mentioned alleged false cases filed against him. Four persons were named in the note. However, the note only spoke of Arun's decision to end his life and had no mention of his mother. This led investigators to consider two possible scenarios: either Arun took his own life after killing his mother or Valsala died by suicide after finding her son dead. The police currently lean toward suicide in both cases, as no signs of forced entry or struggle were found inside the house. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Đây có thể là thời điểm tốt nhất để giao dịch vàng trong 5 năm qua IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo Only after receiving the postmortem reports can we conclude decisively, police said. At the time of the incident, only Arun and his mother were at home. His wife Reema and son Tejas had gone to Reema's parental house on Saturday and had not returned. After postmortem at Thiruvananthapuram medical college, Congress workers brought the bodies to Kadakkavoor police station in an ambulance and held a protest blockade alleging that continuous harassment through social media was the reason behind their deaths. The protesters demanded the immediate arrest of persons named in Arun's suicide note for defaming him on social media. The protest was called off after Varkala DSP assured that those named in the note would be arrested within 48 hours.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Old phone helps Hyderabad police identify skeleton of man who died in 2015
Hyderabad: In what could pass off as a scene straight out of a television crime thriller, Hyderabad police on Monday solved the mystery around a partially retrieved skeleton using an old mobile phone found lying 'dead' near the remains. The 84 missed calls from friends and family on the phone, once activated, helped cops piece the puzzle together and establish that the remains were of 55-year-old Ameer Khan who went missing in 2015. The hair-raising adventure unfolded at an abandoned house in the Nampally market area where Ameer lived alone. He was the third of Muneer Khan's 10 children who died in 2013. While his youngest son, Shadab, inherited the house and several shops in the same building it was Ameer — unmarried and unemployed — who lived there by himself. In May 2015, he disappeared from public view when he stopped leaving the house and locked the doors from inside. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad 'It appears there wasn't much interaction between him and other family members,' said B Kishan Kumar, ACP, Asif Nagar, intrigued by how the house had locks on the outside as well. 'Shadab collected rent from the shops in the building, but he or any other family member never attempted to open the house. No one reported to the police about the missing family member either.' His remains were recovered only on Monday when local boys playing cricket jumped over the compound wall to retrieve a lost ball. 'One of them entered the abandoned, overgrown house, and was hit by an overpowering stench emanating from the kitchen area. The kid then found the skeletal remains, recorded a video of it and shared it on WhatsApp with other friends,' said T Purushotham Rao, inspector, Habeeb Nagar At around 12:30 pm, police were alerted by locals about the remains. Chandra Mohan, DCP, south west zone reached the scene and summoned the forensic team. Cops found that the lower half of the remains, covered in mud on the kitchen floor, had shorts on them. Shadab told the informed police that the victim could be his elder brother, Ameer Khan. Initially, police were uncertain about the identity. But then they found a cell phone near the kitchen. 'It was an old phone and the battery was dead. We contacted a local phone shop and got a charger. To our surprise, the phone's battery turned on, and we saw 84 missed calls in May 2015 from Ameer Khan's acquaintances and family members. The victim's identity was confirmed,' the ACP said, adding, 'We suspect he might have died of ill health. A post-mortem examination is scheduled for Tuesday.'
