Popular outlets in Chennai raided for tax evasion

Chennai:  In a first of its kind drive against tax evasions, the sleuths attached to the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence wing took up a major drive in Chennai on Tuesday targeting three major multi-outlet companies.

Retail major Saravana stores, popular food joint Hotchips and Vasanth & Co were raided by the tax officials. In Chennai, six spots, including the corporate offices of the Sarvana stores were searched and another team conducted similar searches in Coimbatore. The tax officials remained tight-lipped and said that they have received valid documents and vital evidence during the raids to prove the tax evasions, however, they failed to provide the technical details on how GST was evaded.

With GST collections slipping across the country for the second straight month and only about 70 per cent of the assesse's filing returns, expect more such drives in the days to come, said an informed official who is aware of the total GST collections from the state. The political vacuum and the brisk business pattern of Tamil Nadu are now eyed by all the central agencies including the income tax. Be it raiding the minister's house or conducting a day-long search operation at a corporate giant, there will be no transparency on what was seized, but such raids and seizures will continue for few more months, the official said.

“In the past two years, Chennai has made more headlines at all India level due to the IT and tax evasion raids. Is Chennai raking more money than Delhi and Mumbai,” wondered the official.    

According to finance ministry statement around 59.51 lakh, GSTR 3B returns were filed in the month of February till March 25. This is 69 percent of total taxpayers who are required to file monthly returns.

It may be noted that Saravana stores known for splashing money on regular TV commercials roping in heroines had been in the IT and Tax officials' radar for quite some time. In 2011, the income tax officials raided Saravana stores and claimed recovery of evaded tax in crores. Saravana Stores deal in items ranging from jewellery, textile, home appliances and recently opened a sprawling showroom to cater western Chennai.