Rs 5 cr to light in Patiala tax raids

Local traders disclosed rs 5 crore of income in a day after raids on different business establishments in the city on Thursday.The income tax department collected about rs 1.5 crore in tax.

Local traders disclosed rs 5 crore of income in a day after raids on different business establishments in the city on Thursday.The income tax department collected about rs 1.5 crore in tax.

The major success was to get Adalat Bazaar jeweller Dheeraj Singh and Sons to reveal Rs 2.5 crore. Besides, Rajinder Jewellers and a wholesale dealer surrendered about Rs 50 lakh each, while the rest of the businesses, including Jaswant Electricals of Lower Mall and marble dealer Atam Ram Sohan Lal of Focal Point disclosed about Rs 1.5 crore. Confirming the development, joint income tax commissioner Dheeraj Garg said the department had deducted 33% of the income as tax under the rules after this “routine assessment”, which many in the city described as biggest action in a long time.

Traders closed their shops in protest against the raids and came out on streets. Senior officials assured them full cooperation in future.Patiala Vyapar Bachao Sangharsh Committee president Rakesh Gupta alleged in a memorandum to Jagtar Singh, principal commissioner of the local income tax office that the traders had been harassed for these disclosures. “The local business is in a slump and the raids have hit it further. Every business was forced to consume all its capital for routine expenses. The department needs to cooperate with us and find out a solution together instead of harassing us to meet its revenue target,” he said.