I-T dept verifies 394 entities, 36 CAs over suspect foreign remittances

The Income Tax Department has launched a nationwide verification drive targeting 394 entities and 36 professionals, including chartered accountants, over suspected irregularities in foreign remittances. Of the entities under scrutiny, 117 are located in districts along India's land borders. The exercise, announced on August 18, follows a search operation that uncovered a network of fictitious charitable trusts providing accommodation entries against bogus donations.

The CBDT stated that preliminary verification found the entities were either non-filers of tax returns or showed very small turnovers with no apparent correlation to the large sums being remitted. The declared addresses did not match actual operations. A disproportionately large number of Form 15CB certificates were issued by a small group of professionals, and the remitted funds were received by a clustered group of entities, raising concerns about insufficient due diligence. The investigation is ongoing, with authorities identifying masterminds behind the operations.