The income tax department has stumbled upon undisclosed income worth Rs 224.25 crore in connection with a Pune-based start-up firm that deals in construction materials. Officials from the department said this was the largest such find in relation to any Pune company, especially a start-up.
A total of 14 search and nine survey operations were carried out at the firm’s premises in Mumbai, Thane, Pune Noida, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Nashik, Sangli and Indore, officials added. The team claims to have seized incriminating digital evidence related to bogus purchases and unaccounted for cash expenditure exceeding Rs 400 crore during the operation.
A senior official of the team said the start-up involved is a unicorn – a company with a valuation of over a billion dollars – and has a pan-India presence. Its annual turnover is estimated to be over Rs 5,000 crore.
When the directors of the company were questioned about this, they declared additional income of Rs 224.25 crore, an income tax official said, adding that the company has agreed to pay the tax liability.