Ahmedabad, Sep 26 The Gujarat CID-Crime on Saturday registered FIRs against three so-called political outfits for allegedly facilitating a ‘poll donation scam’ that allegedly caused a loss of Rs 314 crore to the exchequer during financial years 2022 to 2025.
The local Crime Investigation Department registered separate cases against the Anand-based Swatantrata Abhivyakti Party (SAP), and Ahmedabad-based Satyavadi Rakshak Party (SRP) and Garib Kalyan Party (GKP).
These parties allegedly collected donations from taxpayers and returned the money after deducting their own commissions. As donations to political parties are exempt from income tax, the donors could claim a rebate by providing receipts against the tax deducted at source (TDS).
The FIRs were registered on complaints from the Income Tax Department, CID officials said.
Along with the office-bearers of the three parties, a few chartered accountants were also named as accused.
The accused office-bearers of the three parties allegedly admitted that they had formed the parties solely to earn commissions by facilitating tax evasion, CID officials claimed. No arrest has been made in the case yet.
As per the complaint lodged by the Income Tax Department, the SAP, its office-bearers, a tax consultant and a CA were involved in a case pertaining to bogus donations of Rs 519 crore and tax evasion of Rs 155 crore.
Another FIR named nine persons including the president, secretary and treasurer of the Ahmedabad-based GKP and three CAs for their involvement in a Rs 62 crore tax evasion.
The third FIR was registered against three office-bearers of the SRP and a cost management accountant who are accused of hatching a criminal conspiracy to cause a financial loss of Rs 124.5 crore.
As per the FIRs, donations were accepted in the respective bank accounts of the three parties. Subsequently, the funds were withdrawn for bogus purchases or expenses supported by fake bills.
After deducting their own commissions, the parties would return the remaining cash to their donors.
Acting in collusion, these parties allegedly submitted false contribution reports to the Election Commission, thereby causing a financial loss representing 30 percent of the donations received by them to the government exchequer, the FIRs stated.
The accused CAs allegedly created bogus audit reports for the accounts of these entities and certain shell companies.
Further probe was underway, CID officials said.
(PTI News)
