IT dept swoops down on commodity hoarders

Income Tax Department carried out survey operations of over 10 wholesale vegetable merchants across Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Chandigarh in a move to check commodity hoarding in the wake of soaring onion prices.

"The survey operations, which commenced yesterday, are primarily aimed to check profiteering made by hoarders of vegetables," a senior official of Income Tax Department (Investigation Wing) said here today.

Though the surveys were still going, the IT sleuths said they are investigating the records and books of accounts of these traders to ascertain the mismatch between physical stocks of goods and stocks maintained in account books.

However, the department refused to divulge much about the ongoing operations.

Income Tax department officials swooped down on vegetable merchants in Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Faridabad and Jammu and Kashmir simultaneously. 

Onions are being sold at Rs 45-50 per kg in markets of Chandigarh and several parts of Punjab including Ludhiana, Amritsar.