Unaccounted investment of Rs70 cr found

Amarjot Kaur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 15

The Income Tax Department found Rs70 crore of unaccounted investment in The Mohali Club, Phase 11, and The Palace Banquet Hall on the Dera Bassi-Barwala road during a search at the residence and other properties of the owners of the Makkar Group.

The department concluded its five-day-long search on 22 premises in Chandigarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Mumbai, including those of Torque Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd, JW Marriott Hotel and the Makkar Group, on December 12.

Sources in the department said searches covered the residential premises of Kuldeep Singh Makkar, Puneet Singh Makkar and Angad Singh Makkar, including their brick kilns and two banquet halls, The Palace and The Mohali Club. “The search and seizure operation unearthed huge unaccounted cash transactions in business and several other incriminating documents. The department found Rs70 crore of unaccounted investment in The Palace Banquet Hall and The Mohali Club. Several documents and digital data relating to ‘benami’ transactions were recovered. The investigation is under progress to calculate the real figures of tax evasion,” sources in the department said.

“About five lockers of the Makkar Group have been sealed by the department. Only after they are opened can we decipher the exact figures,” added the sources.

When contacted, Puneet Singh Makkar said, “The valuation of both the properties has been done in our absence and in an arbitrary manner. The properties have been overvalued to the extent to show double the actual rate. We and our entire staff have cooperated with the teams and obeyed all norms. As for ‘benami’ properties or transactions, it is a baseless allegation.