In a major breakthrough in its crackdown on beneficiaries of more than 2000 hawala transactions, the income-Tax Department found 7,222 crore rupees worth of fake bills had been presented by 189 assessees in Mumbai and Pune in their returns -to artificially deflate taxable income. These 189 assessees are hawala beneficiaries from the construction, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and steel sectors.

The IT Department’s investigations into 150 cases in Mumbai unearthed 6,500 crore rupees bogus bills, while 722 crore rupees fake ones came to light through 39 cases in Pune. In a statement the IT Department said a large number of taxpayers obtained bogus (non-genuine) bills for purchases and expenses from hawala dealers and used those to suppress taxable income. The crackdown is set to be extended to other business centres of the country, with the tax officials closely examining the possibility of tax evasion in a planned and concerted manner through forged bills.