Hyderabad: In a significant judgment, the Special Court for Economic Offences in Hyderabad sentenced three businessmen to one year of imprisonment each for tax evasion under the Income Tax Act. The court also imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on each of the convicts.
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Accused Identified as Real Estate and Business Professionals
The convicted individuals are:
- Kolan Jaipal Reddy, a real estate businessman
- Gummi Narender Reddy
- Desaram Krishna
The case revolves around a land transaction in August 2015, where four acres of agricultural land in Pedda Amberpet village, Hayathnagar were purchased for ₹88 lakh in cash.
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Cash Transaction Concealed to Evade Tax
According to the Income Tax Department’s investigation, Jaipal Reddy concealed his share of ₹44 lakh from the transaction, failing to disclose the source of this significant cash payment.
“Even with such low turnover and income from all his sources, the assessee has managed to purchase agricultural land with a total payment of ₹44,00,000 in cash during FY 2015-16,” the judge noted, suggesting undisclosed income and deliberate tax evasion.
Court Recognizes Deliberate Attempt to Defraud Tax Authorities
The prosecution successfully proved that the accused had wilfully attempted to evade taxes, leading to their conviction. The judgment sets a precedent for similar cases where cash transactions are used to hide income and avoid taxes.
Crackdown on Black Money and Tax Fraud Continues
This ruling underscores the government’s ongoing efforts to crack down on black money and penalize individuals or entities involved in financial fraud and non-disclosure of income.
