The Income Tax Department has conducted an extensive search operation, targeting prominent builder groups and businesses involved in lamination and plywood across Vadodara, Ahmedabad, and Surat. The simultaneous raids at 20 different locations have caused alarm among potential tax evaders.
The search operations are being conducted at 15 locations in Vadodara, five in Surat, and five in Ahmedabad. Early on Wednesday, the Income Tax Department raided the premises of Vadodara’s Ratnam Group, Siddheshwar Nyalkaran, Courtyard, Shrimay Group, along with their partners, architects, and investors in Ahmedabad and Surat.
In Ahmedabad, tax officials conducted raids upon Royal Crown Lamination and Crown Decor on Ambli Road, as well as Royal Touch and Olympus Decor near SG Highway Gurudwara. The searches extended to both corporate offices and residential properties.
During these initial searches, the department discovered records of cash transactions, banking details, and digital data, which are expected to reveal large-scale tax evasion. Sources within the department suggest that those involved in transactions with these builder groups are now also under scrutiny.
Officials from Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Surat joined the operation alongside those from Vadodara. The entire process was kept highly confidential, with some officials reportedly called in from distant locations.
The operation, which came just ahead of Diwali, focused on four prominent builder groups in Vadodara. The Ratnam Group’s office on VIP Road and their project sites, including Harni, were among the locations raided, as was the residence of the group’s director, Nilesh Sheth. Similar actions were taken against the Courtyard Group, Shrimay Group and Siddheshwar Group, all of which have launched luxury developments in key areas such as Gotri-Sevasi Road.
The raids, part of a broader crackdown on undeclared wealth, are expected to uncover tax evasion worth several crores. The department’s Investigation Wing had been monitoring these groups for some time, acting on intelligence that their full income was not being declared despite substantial earnings from various projects. Some of these builder groups reportedly conducted undisclosed internal transactions.
The raids, which continued late into the night, saw tax officials seizing computer records and documents to aid their investigation.
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