I-T raids prominent pan-masala, gutkha makers

The Income Tax department today raided business establishments and residences of prominent pan-masala and gutkha manufacturers in 14 states.

The raids were conducted on 69 premises related with manufacturers of the tobacco products, sources said.

"The raids and survey were conducted by over 1,000 tax officials and security personnel," they added.

The raids comes a day after, the department said it has recovered of Rs 44.2 crore of unaccounted money from three Delhi-based commodity traders.

It was the largest ever cash haul of unaccounted money by the department, the Central Board of Direct Taxes said. The traders have admitted of tax evasion of about Rs 150 crore, it added.

A few days ago, in a similar search operation, the IT department in Asansol, West Bengal had seized unaccounted cash and bank deposits worth RS 12.57 crore.

The IT department has unearthed unaccounted income of over Rs 15,000 crore in the last two years.