The Income Tax Department has uncovered a massive fraudulent refund racket in Tamil Nadu, with survey and raid operations conducted across 18 locations, including Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore, Salem, Madurai, Vellore, Erode, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Theni, Sivagangai, Pudukkottai, Virudhunagar, and Tirunelveli.
The raids targeted intermediaries and IT practitioners who facilitated fake deductions under various sections of the Income Tax Act, enabling thousands of taxpayers to claim 120 crore in bogus refunds.
According to sources in the department, special teams covered the offices of chartered accountants (CAs), middle-men and brokers who allegedly helped their clients claim tax deductions with bogus bills, documents.
Also read: Thousands of salaried people, CAs ‘involved’ in Rs 500-crore fraud, claims I-T dept
Investigations revealed that these intermediaries, operating through closed WhatsApp and Telegram groups and word-of-mouth networks, aided taxpayers—including government employees and serving and retired defence personnel from Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and Bihar—in filing incorrect IT returns.
Fraudulent claims were made under sections like 80GGC (political donations), 80D (medical reimbursements), 80C (tuition fees), and 10(13A) (HRA), resulting in defrauding the government of crores of rupees. The racket, valued at 550 crore, involved specific email IDs created to file thousands of fraudulent returns.
Nationwide,...
For nearly 170 years, the Benedictine Sisters of Erie have been a visible force in that region’s community. They took to the streets for anti-Vietnam and civil rights marches in the 60s and 70s. S...