👉🏻 Undisclosed gold stock, illegal money lending, and unaccounted property investments unearthed

👉🏻 Proprietors directed to deposit Rs. 4.5 crore as advance tax, further scrutiny underway


By Akshay Lahre
Raipur/Dhamtari @The Apna Chhattisgarh । A large-scale tax evasion racket worth Rs. 15 crore has been unearthed by the Income Tax Department’s Assessment Wing following a rigorous 30-hour survey at two major jewellery establishments—A M Jewellers in Raipur and Shri Sethia Jewellers in Dhamtari. The operation, which commenced at 12:30 pm on Tuesday, aimed at detecting unreported income, undisclosed assets, and financial irregularities, exposing significant lapses in compliance.

During extensive questioning, Sunil Parakh and his son Ankit Parakh of A M Jewellers admitted to evading Rs. 10 crore in tax, while Rahul Sethia of Shri Sethia Jewellers accepted concealing Rs. 5 crore worth of taxable income. “Investigators found that A M Jewellers had undeclared gold stock of 12 kg, while Shri Sethia Jewellers failed to account for 6 kg of gold jewellery. Both proprietors have been instructed to deposit an advance tax of Rs. 3 crore and Rs. 1.5 crore, respectively, by March 15, apart from additional penalties,” confirmed sources in the Income Tax Assessment Wing.

Unaccounted cash transactions and illegal money lending exposed

Further examination revealed that both jewellery firms had been operating an extensive off-the-books cash sales network. Gold jewellery was being supplied to small-scale traders from remote areas of Chhattisgarh and Odisha, with transactions deliberately kept outside banking systems to avoid tax obligations.

The survey at Shri Sethia Jewellers also uncovered a parallel illegal money lending business, where the firm mortgaged jewellery against cash loans without maintaining any records in its official accounts. “Promissory notes found at the premises confirmed that significant sums were being lent in cash, while the entire inflow and outflow of funds remained undocumented,” asserted sources in the Income Tax Assessment Wing.

Meanwhile, tax officials at A M Jewellers found that a substantial portion of unaccounted earnings had been diverted into purchasing immovable properties. “Preliminary findings indicate that real estate investments were made using black money, and further scrutiny of past financial transactions is expected to push the total evasion figure beyond Rs. 15 crore,” an official remarked.

Forensic probe and digital evidence collection underway

In a decisive move, the Income Tax Department has recorded statements from the proprietors under Section 133(A)(1) of the Income Tax Act, with additional summons expected as digital and financial forensic analysis intensifies.

The survey operation was meticulously overseen by Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (CCIT) Aparna Karan and Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (PCIT) Pradeep Hedau, while field operations were led by Joint Commissioner Birendra Kumar and Deputy Commissioner Rahul Mishra. The Raipur team comprised 32 members, including 22 tax sleuths, forensic experts, government-approved valuers, and armed police personnel, while Dhamtari had a 22-member team, including 16 tax investigators and forensic specialists. Armed police were strategically deployed to preempt any resistance and ensure a smooth operation.

The survey teams also flagged multiple accounting discrepancies, including fictitious expenditure entries and bogus billing methods used to launder unaccounted cash. While no unaccounted cash was found at the corporate office, substantial digital evidence, including financial transactions stored in laptops, mobile phones, and other electronic devices, was seized for further investigation.

Gold valuers from Nagpur and cyber forensic experts from Mumbai played a crucial role

The valuation of the undisclosed gold stock was conducted by jewellery appraisers from Nagpur, while cyber forensic experts from Mumbai assisted in extracting digital evidence and tracing financial transactions hidden in electronic records. “The cloning of digital data from laptops and mobile devices will help track the complete financial trail, ensuring accountability,” stated officials involved in the investigation.

With the scale of tax evasion now exposed, the Income Tax Department is expected to extend its crackdown to other high-value jewellery businesses in the region, reinforcing its commitment to curbing tax fraud in cash-intensive industries.