Caterers in service tax deptt's net

Officials from the service tax department have conducted searches at the offices and residential premises of five outdoor caterers here and unearthed tax evasion of about Rs 3 crore, department sources said today.

The searches were conducted at the premises of Lakhani Caterer, Trupti Caterer, Amrut Caterer, Jyoti Caterer, and Chetak Caterer yesterday.

"It was found that most of these service providers had carried out transactions in cash and not recorded them in books of accounts, for evading tax payment," said an official. Rs 2 crore in deposits were collected from them.

The department identified the venues where lavish events are held, to get information about service providers such as pandal decorators, caterers and event managers.

The crack-down on service providers at big events would intensify in the coming months as the department now had a database of service providers, sources said.