After conducting a series of searches across the country including in poll bound Tamil Nadu, the Income Tax department said on Friday it is closely watching cash movement during the forthcoming assembly elections.
The department said that as part of its assembly election surveillance in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, searches were held in five premises in Chennai on Tuesday. “These five premises belong to five entities, who, in addition to their regular business, are also acting as cash handlers," the department said.
In a separate action, the department on Wednesday searched a business group engaged in yarn trading and supply of personal protection gear, bags and baby care kits to various state governments. These searches were conducted in eight premises at Tirupur, Dharapuram and Chennai, the statement said, adding that these revealed that the group was engaged in suppressing profit by inflating purchases and other expenses.The unaccounted income so made is invested in land and business, the department said.
“Seizure of large unaccounted cash will reduce the possibility of its utilisation for electoral purposes and will aid the objective of free and fair poll in the state of Tamil Nadu. Income Tax department has stepped up its monitoring and is closely watching the cash movement during the ensuing assembly elections," the department said in its statement.
The department had last week held searches in Chennai, Coimbatore, Salem, Virudhunagar and Theni and detected large amounts of unaccounted funds being routed through foreign entities, the department had said on Wednesday.
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