Tamil Nadu: 3,000 PSU staff use fake bills for false ITR, says I-T dept

CHENNAI: Over 3,000 employees of various Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and corporates have made fraudulent claims in their Income Tax Returns (ITRs) and received huge refunds by evading income tax, according to the I-T department.

The PSUs whose employees who have indulged in tax frauds with the connivance of unscrupulous tax practitioners include Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, Tamil Nadu State Transport corporation, Tirunelveli District Court, Heavy Alloy Penetrator Project and many others. Employees of several private companies have also indulged in tax frauds, said a press release from the I-T department.

Multiple rackets comprising income tax practitioners, chartered accountants, middlemen and employees have been busted in a snoop by the investigation wing of the Income Tax Department, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. During the enforcement actions conducted by the income tax sleuths across Tamil Nadu and in the districts bordering the neighbouring states, it was found that I-T practitioners and CAs, along with certain intermediaries, facilitated tax frauds by generating bogus donation receipts, false medical expenditure claims, fabricated rental agreements, and incorrect exempt allowances.

The I-T department has given time till March 31 to revise file returns.

Several hundreds of employees have claimed bogus deductions under Section 80 GGC through fake receipts in the name of political parties. Donation receipts were edited in the system and used for several PANs. Many employees have claimed deduction amounting to several lakhs under section 80E, which is for interest paid on loans taken for higher education for self or dependents. It was found during the investigation that these were fraudulent claims.

The release further stated that tax consultants prepared bogus rent receipts in the name of landlords to claim exemption for house rent allowance and given to the employees for evading tax. Evidence clearly showing generation of medical certificates and bills in the name of various doctors in the computer systems of the tax practitioners have been detected by the Investigation officials.