New Delhi, Nov 21 (IANS): The Income Tax Department has carried out a search and seizure operation on a prominent group engaged in manufacturing of chemicals and development of real estate on November 18.

The search operation has resulted in seizure of unaccounted cash of about Rs 2.5 crore and jewellery of Rs 1 crore.

The search action covered more than 20 premises spread over Vapi and Sarigam in Gujarat, Silvassa and also in Mumbai.

The department said that a large number of incriminating evidences in the form of documents, diary notings and digital data showing earning of huge unaccounted income by the group and its investment in assets have been found and seized.

The evidences clearly indicate evasion of taxable income by adopting various modus-operandi such as suppression of production, use of bogus purchase invoices without actual delivery of the goods to inflate purchases, availing of bogus GST credit and claim of bogus commission expenses among others, the department said in a statement.

The assessee group has also received on-money in immovable property transactions. All these have resulted into generation of unaccounted cash.

During the search proceedings, several incriminating evidences about cash transactions in investment in immovable properties and cash loans have also been seized.

16 bank lockers have been placed under restraint.

A preliminary analysis of the documents/evidence unearthed during the search has indicated that estimation of unaccounted income is likely to be more than Rs 100 crore.

Further investigations are in progress.