New Delhi: The Income Tax Department on Monday conducted a "large-scale" verification operation across 150 locations in the country as part of a tax evasion probe against individuals and entities facilitating fraudulent claims of deductions and exemptions in Income Tax Returns (ITRs).
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Official sources told PTI that the department undertook searches and surveys at multiple office and house locations in various states during the operation that came about after analysing financial data received from third-party sources, ground-level intelligence, and advanced artificial intelligence tools.
These findings were further substantiated by recent search and seizure operations conducted by the department in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh, where evidence of fraudulent claims was found to have been used by various groups and entities, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement.
"Investigations have uncovered organised rackets operated by certain ITR preparers and intermediaries, who have been filing returns claiming fictitious deductions and exemptions.
"These fraudulent filings involve the abuse of beneficial provisions, with some even submitting false TDS (tax deducted at source) returns to claim excessive refunds," it said.
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