look news india
Grand weddings under income tax scrutiny: Indians spend lavishly during the wedding season. But be careful while spending, otherwise you may get caught in the clutches of the Income Tax Department if you spend too much. Indians spend their entire life’s money on marriage. From Bollywood stars to famous artists, many people plan destination weddings. The Income Tax Department also keeps a close watch on such grand luxury weddings. Recently, IT raids were conducted at around 20 top wedding planners in Jaipur.
Rs 7500 crore spent on weddings in last one year
According to the Income Tax Department, an unaccounted amount of Rs 7500 crore was spent on wedding planning in the country in the last one year. Actually, the rich people of the country have luxurious weddings. Scammers and tax evaders are also taking advantage of this to convert their black money into white. As it is reported that 50 to 60 percent of the expenditure on weddings is done by wedding planners, the IT raids are mainly targeting wedding planners.
Keep an eye on grand weddings
Sources said that soon the money spent on weddings held abroad will also be investigated. In these weddings, guests and stars are sent abroad by chartered plane. The tax department will officially compare the amount spent with the number of guests and the style of the event. Catering companies are also being questioned in this regard. The department is empowered under the Income Tax Act to investigate unexplained expenditure. People sometimes do not keep track of the money spent on big weddings.
Many big businessmen are violating tax and FEMA while getting married abroad. If the money transferred abroad exceeds the Reserve Bank’s Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS) limit, such foreign marriages can also come under the scanner of the ED. The investigation so far has revealed that the wedding planners of Jaipur are at the forefront in this work.
Participation of event planners from Rajasthan
An Income Tax official said, it has been found that people who want to plan a very grand wedding approach big event planners in their city. Then these organizers contact the event planners of Rajasthan. Event planners in Rajasthan pay the expenses of hotels, tent houses, catering companies, flower shops and celebrity managers in cash as per convenience. So there is no account of this. General expenses are paid by check and banking only.
link found in fake bill
Several fake bills supporting such transactions provided initial clues to the investigation. These operators bill hotels and catering companies in exchange for the cash received from wedding planners. These bills are prepared by organizations having GST numbers.
Siddharth Banawat, partner at chartered accountant firm S Banawat & Associates LLP, said the tax department is working to prevent tax evasion by collecting information from various sources. Now only big businessmen are not being investigated. Everyone is covered. There are many problems in getting married abroad. Actually, there are strict rules regarding foreign exchange. A few months ago, while sending money for hotel booking for a group abroad, a private bank asked for the name and PAN number of each guest from the bride’s father.