Ahmedabad: The Gujarat CID investigating a Rs 680 crore donation “scam” has found that several unrecognised political parties allegedly collected donations from taxpayers and returned the money through the ‘angadia’ rout…

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat CID investigating a Rs 680 crore donation “scam” has found that several unrecognised political parties allegedly collected donations from taxpayers and returned the money through the ‘angadia’ route after deducting commissions to evade income tax, officials said.’Angadia’ is a traditional courier system used by traders to transport cash, jewellery and documents.As donations to political parties are exempt from income tax, donors could claim a rebate by providing receipts against the tax deducted at source (TDS).The Crime Investigation Department (CID) has registered First Information Reports (FIRs) against four registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) over the last few days based on complaints from the Income Tax Department, Rohan Anand, Superintendent of Police of the Anti-Economic Offences Wing of CID Crime, said on Monday.Political donation scam | Gujarat police register FIRs against 3 parties alleged to have defrauded taxes over Rs 600 crSeparate cases were registered against Swatantrata Abhivyakti Party (SAP), Ahmedabad-based Satyavadi Rakshak Party (SRP), Garib Kalyan Party (GKP) and one more such party whose name was not immediately known. Along with the office-bearers of the four parties, a few chartered accountants have also been named as accused.Anand said that raids conducted by I-T officials during the 2022-23 period indicated that certain individuals had formed such parties to solicit funds and donations, thereby claiming income tax rebates.”These parties were not engaged in any actual political activity. Funds were being returned to the donors through angadia route, thereby facilitating income tax evasion and loss to the government exchequer of several hundred crore rupees,” he said.”Preliminary findings indicate a loss of Rs 680 crore to the government exchequer in these four cases. Investigation is currently underway. We intend to secure the evidence gathered by the Income Tax Department and are also seeking relevant records,” Anand informed.He said the CID is in the process of collecting documentary evidence, including bank trails, angadia (courier) slips, and party payment receipts, while efforts are also underway to locate the absconding individuals.Additionally, a forensic examination of the audit reports available on the Election Commission of India (ECI) portal will be conducted as part of the investigation, he added.As per the FIRs, these parties allegedly collected donations from taxpayers and returned the money after deducting their own commissions. As donations to political parties are exempt from income tax, the donors could claim a rebate by providing receipts against the TDS.Rs 100-crore donation promise ends in Rs 35-lakh fraud case in Bengaluru”Donations were accepted in the respective bank accounts of these parties. Subsequently, the funds were withdrawn for bogus purchases or expenses supported by fake bills. After deducting their own commissions, the parties would return the remaining amount to their donors,” as per the complaint by the IT Department.Acting in collusion, these parties allegedly submitted false contribution reports to the Election Commission, thereby causing a financial loss to the government exchequer, representing 30 per cent of the donations received by them, the FIRs stated.The accused CAs allegedly created bogus audit reports for the accounts of these entities and certain shell companies.

Source: Deccan Herald