₹34,000-Crore Property Deals Under Scanner as Income Tax Raids Revenue Offices in Punjab, Haryana

Chandigarh (The Uttam Hindu): Cracking down on suspected irregularities in high-value property transactions, the Income Tax Department's Intelligence and Criminal Investigation Directorate (I&CI), Chandigarh, on Wednesday carried out a major operation. The department's teams conducted a comprehensive survey drive in various State Land Revenue Authorities (Tehsils) in Punjab and Haryana. Under this special nationwide drive, records were scrutinized in the offices of Tehsildars and Naib Tehsildars posted in Panchkula, Zirakpur, Pathankot and Sahnewal in Ludhiana district. The primary objective of the operation was to detect large-scale discrepancies and possible manipulations in the reporting of real estate transactions.

According to official sources, these survey operations have revealed startling property transactions worth over ₹34,000 crore that were either not reported to the Income Tax Department or were reported with incorrect PAN details. Such manipulations allowed these high-profile transactions to escape the department's scrutiny. During physical verification, officials compared data available on the state registry software with information submitted by tehsildars to the tax authority, revealing serious discrepancies. In many cases, transactions worth crores of rupees were completely missing from the reports, while in many others, incorrect PAN numbers were deliberately or carelessly entered.

According to regulations, any property transaction exceeding ₹30 lakh is required to be reported to the Income Tax Department, along with the PAN and Aadhaar details of the buyers and sellers. However, the investigation revealed that these rules were being consistently violated, pointing to a system failure and an intent to conceal the identities of those involved in the transactions. The department has now launched a thorough investigation into whether incorrect PAN details were deliberately used to shield beneficiaries and evade tax scrutiny.

Officials said the Chandigarh Directorate, which has jurisdiction over Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, is conducting such operations throughout the northwestern region. It's worth noting that the Directorate's Principal Director General convened a meeting of state revenue inspectors general in New Delhi last month to alert them to their statutory responsibilities. Despite this, the continued inaccurate reporting reflects the negligence of revenue officials. It's believed the Income Tax Department will expand the scope of its investigation in the coming days, potentially targeting erring officials and beneficiaries involved in undisclosed transactions.