Tax sleuths search National Spot Exchange sites

The Income Tax department is conducting searches on the business premises of two dozen members of the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) which is facing alleged irregularity charges in settling Rs 5,600 crore dues to investors.

The searches are being done in cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Nagpur, Jaipur and few other locations.

"Multiple teams of I-T sleuths visited the offices of the firms of the 24 members, a number of which are either small entities or are suspected to be front companies for other people," sources said.

The I-T action has been launched to check the stocks and goods stored in the warehouses of these firms, to check the account books and transactions in order to ascertain any possible tax evasion by these entities and verify their claims of huge dues, they said.