Further widening its investigation into alleged Commonwealth Games-related irregularities, the income-tax department on Thursday searched the offices of those companies which had contracts for sports tracks, equipment, landscaping and public lighting for the recently-concluded sporting event.
Around 300 I-T sleuths searched 50 premises spread over New Delhi and the national capital region, Kolkata, Jamshedpur, Bengaluru and Mumbai on Thursday. The nationwide searches started early on Thursday morning and were continuing till late in the evening.
Government sources told this newspaper that the searches on Thursday were concentrated primarily on four companies: Shiv Naresh Sports, which had contracts for supplying sports accessories and laying the synthetic track surfaces; Sweka Powertech Engineers, which provided electrical poles, bulbs and street lighting; Kolkata-based MBL Infrastructure, which was allegedly awarded a `700-crore worth contract to build several roads and carry out beautification projects; and Satya Prakash and Brothers, which had contracts for streetscaping and beautification.
“The main purpose of these searches is that we can freeze the accounts of these contractors so that they don’t have the time to manipulate their records when they file their tax returns. There is a possibility that if they are given time, they may make false receipts to show low profits and claim tax refunds,” said a senior income-tax official. The I-T department is also checking if the Games authorities had deducted the correct amount of TDS (tax deducted at source) while making payments to these contractors. The tax return details of previous years filed by these companies are also being looked into by the department to unearth any unaccounted income.
The I-T department had last week searched the offices of four business consortiums awarded contracts for overlays for the CWG.
The I-T raids are part of multi-agency probe ordered by the government to inquire into allegations of financial irregularities related to the Games. Besides the I-T department, the Enforcement Directorate, CBI, Central Vigilance Commission and the Prime Minister-appointed expert committee headed by former CAG V.K. Shunglu are also looking into the alleged financial irregularities in connection with the Games.