New Delhi, July 8 : Income Tax Department has conducted searches on pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors in Haryana and Delhi-NCR and claimed to have seized cash of Rs 4.2 crore and jewellery or bullion worth Rs 4 crore, an official statement said on Friday.
The search and seizure operations, conducted on June 29, 2022, on a group engaged in the business of manufacturing and distribution of pharmaceutical medicines and real estate development, covered 25 premises in Delhi-NCR and Haryana.
‘A large number of incriminating documents in the form of loose sheets and digital data have been found and seized. These documents reveal that the group was involved in huge unaccounted sales of pharmaceutical medicines in cash. Large amount of purchases, payments of wages and other expenses were also found to have been made in cash,’ the statement said.
‘The modus-operandi of unaccounted cash sales of pharmaceutical medicines, including cash receipts through hawala for sale of medicines to Afghanistan, has been admitted by a key person involved in such transactions. The preliminary analysis of the seized data indicates that such hawala cash receipts amount to Rs. 25 crore approximately. In the case of one pharmaceutical concern dealing in Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), surplus stock valued at Rs 94 crore has been found,’ it said.
It was also found that the cash generated through unaccounted cash sales was allegedly invested in purchase of immovable properties, and in expansion of manufacturing facilities of pharmaceutical medicines.
The real estate entities of the group were found to be allegedly engaged in out-of-books sale and purchase of properties in cash.
‘The group has also been booking bogus long term or short term capital losses in the securities market to offset the capital gains earned on such property transactions. The amount of such bogus losses is estimated to be around Rs. 20 crore. The search action has revealed that the group has also floated benami entities to purchase immovable properties in the State of Himachal Pradesh,’ the statement said.
