In countrywide raids, offices of Sugal and Damani Group were searched by IT officers on Thursday.
“Yes, the raids are on. We are looking into the lottery business run by them. We have got a tip off that they have not produced accurate lottery sales figures and evaded tax,” a senior Income Tax official who headed the operations told The Hindu , on condition of anonymity. The raids are expected to end by Saturday.
Sugal and Damani has been operating government licensed lotteries for the past 40 years. Apart from lotteries, the group has diversified into information technology, travel and tourism, stock broking, forex services, jewellery, wind energy, real estate and education. According to the group’s website, it has a turnover of Rs 7,000 crore ($1.43 billion).
Officials and representatives of Sugal and Damani could not be reached for their comments.
“We don’t know the quantum of evasion. By next week we will be able to provide more details. We are also looking at the other businesses of the group,” another senior official in the Income Tax department said.
