Zee Entertainment Enterprises (formerly Zee Telefilms) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by the Essel Group. Headquartered in Mumbai, the company operates TV, print, internet, film, and mobile content-related businesses and operates 45 channels worldwide. On January 4, 2021, an income tax raid was held at Zee Entertainment. In this article, we take a closer look at zee entertainment Income Tax raid.
Zee Entertainment income tax raid detail
The Income Tax Department’s Investigative Division has investigated approximately 15 offices of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) based on disclosures provided by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Department.
The tax authority said the search is not as extensive as a search or “house search”, can only be conducted during business hours, and does not apply to residential properties.
Sources said the disclosure was about input tax credits claimed by Zee Group and L&T. A source in the IT department said the two companies are reviewing the claimed pre-tax deduction. ZEEL is the entertainment division of Zee Group.
The GST department’s disclosure was received by the IT department, and an investigation was launched based on it. An IT department official said action could be taken if the investigation found tax evasion.
A spokesperson for Zee Group said, “Tax officials visited the company’s office to ask specific questions. Company officials provided all necessary information and provide full cooperation’’.
Email inquiries to the L&T group were not answerable. The government used data analytics to verify actual transactions based on data from multiple sources.
Finance Minister Ajay Bhushan Pandey said in an interview that the Income Tax Department, Goods and Services Tax Department (GST), and other law enforcement agencies are taking concerted action to investigate tax evasion.
Wrapping Up
Company officials provided all necessary information and provided full cooperation. The company also claimed it was an investigation and not a raid. The officials provided no further information on this matter. The officials set out the verification exercise on the information about input tax credit.