New Delhi, Aug 7 (Bureau) The Income Tax Department has carried out search and seizure operations in the cases of certain producers, distributors and financiers associated with the film industry in Tamil Nadu, an official statement said on Saturday. The department has claimed to have seized cash of Rs 26 crore and unaccounted gold jewellery exceeding Rs 3 crore.The search operations were conducted at almost 40 premises located in Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore and Vellore on August 2. ‘During the course of the search operations, several incriminating documents and digital evidence relating to unaccounted cash transactions and investments have been seized. Secret and hidden premises have also been unearthed during the search,’ the statement said.
‘The searches in the cases of film financiers have revealed documents like promissory notes relating to unaccounted cash loans, which were advanced to various film production houses and others. In the cases of film production houses, evidences reveal tax evasion, as the actual amounts realized from the release of the films are much more than the amounts shown in the regular books of account. The unaccounted income so generated by them is deployed for undisclosed investments as well as for various undisclosed payments,’ it said. ‘Similarly, evidences seized in the cases of film distributors, indicate collection of unaccounted cash from the theatres. As per the evidences, the distributors have formed syndicates and have systematically suppressed the theatre collections, resulting in the suppression of actual income,’ the statement added.So far, the search operation has resulted in detection of undisclosed income exceeding Rs 200 crore, the statement said.