Raids by income tax sleuths on the offices of realty firm M3M recently yielded Rs.314 crore unaccounted income. This is one of the highest seizures in the region, said I-T officials. According to officials, searches, conducted this month, led to the seizure of documents which revealed many unaccounted transactions for purchase of land and other business activities by M3M India Ltd.
M3M India Holdings, a sister company of the M3M Group, sold 8 lakh shares of another firm of the same group RS Infrastructure Pvt Ltd for Rs.526 crore to Lowe Realty Pvt Ltd, a group concern of Religare, Mumbai.
M3M India Holding has Basant Bansal, Roop Bansal, Abha Bansal and Punkaj Bansal as partners. The company had 8 lakh shares of RS Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, which also had about 18 acres of land in Golf Course Extension Road, Gurgaon with commercial CLU (change in land use) certificate.
The documents showed that M3M India Holdings had already handed over 4,88,000 shares to Lowe Realty Pvt Ltd at Rs.6,575 per share and had received part payment of Rs.240 crore in the current fiscal. The amount was a part of the total transaction of Rs.320 crore and, therefore, was liable to capital gains tax in financial year 2011-12.
During the search it was found out that the assessee, M3M India Holdings, had manipulated its accounts such that the amount was not shown as income in the current fiscal.
While Rs.314 crore had been surrendered, more unaccounted income was likely to be detected on the completion of the case in a fortnight’s time, said YR Saini, director, Directorate of Income Tax (investigation).
Apart from the revenue intelligence gathering, a lavish function organised on an island in Turkey by one of the company officials for her daughter’s wedding proved to be a major lead for the I-T sleuths. A huge expenditure was incurred on the marriage.
