Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Commercial Tax and GST Enforcement authorities under the CT & GST Commissionerate have conducted a series of raids on 20 business premises and warehouses of tobacco and pan masala manufacturers and traders covering 14 districts.
Based on internal intelligence, extensive data analysis and frequency of interception of vehicles carrying tobacco products in a clandestine manner, It conducted simultaneous raids at 30 different places of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Keonjhar, Rairangpur, Balasore, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir, Rourkela, Bhawanipatna, Kesinga and Berhampur.
In the ongoing raids, 30 teams consisting of 121 officers of State CT & GST Enforcement Wings (besides the Police personnel) are verifying the incriminating documents, computers, laptops, secret transaction details and recording the physical stock available in their business premises and godown for cross verification with books of accounts.
The unexplained documents have been seized for further investigation. In some places, the tax payer tried to destroy the incriminating documents but the same were recovered before being destroyed.
Preliminary investigation reveals that these tax payers have paid very negligible amount of tax on their sales despite having huge purchase and sales turnover. The investigating officers have been instructed to complete the investigation as quickly as possible.
From the raids conducted earlier in Jewellery and furniture sector, tax, penalty and fine amounting to Rs.9.82 crores and Rs.2.51 crores respectively have been collected and deposited in Government account. The details in regard to the ongoing raids can be ascertained soon after completion of investigation.
