The Income Tax department on Thursday, March 4, said that it found 'financial irregularities and manipulation of income' during the raids on the homes and offices of Bollywood actor Taapsee Pannu, director Anurag Kashyap and his partners, who had launched the now-defunct production house (Phantom Films).
According to NDTV, the tax officials during their investigations found issues with ₹5 crores in cash received by Pannu and ₹300 crore income by Kashyap's former production house among other concerns.
Reports have also pointed out that her company is suspected to be involved in a case of tax evasion. Meanwhile, the actor is yet to respond to the charges.
The investigation is a part of a tax evasion probe against Phantom Films. The searches were carried out across 28 locations in Mumbai and Pune on Wednesday, according to a government release. Raids were also conducted on the properties linked with Reliance Entertainment group CEO Shibhasish Sarkar and some executives of celebrity and talent management companies KWAN and Exceed.
"During the search, evidence of huge suppression of income by the leading film production house compared to the actual box office collections has been unearthed. The company officials have not been able to explain discrepancy of around ₹300 crores," the IT Department said in a news release.
It also said that evidence relating to manipulation and under-valuation of share transaction of the production house amongst the stakeholders including film directors and shareholders having tax implication of about ₹ 350 crores has also been disclosed.
"Apart from this, non-genuine/bogus expenditure to related concerns by the leading producers/director having tax implication of about ₹ 20 crores has been detected. Similar findings have been made in the case of the leading actress also," the release added.
Also Read: I-T Raids At Anurag Kashyap, Tapsee Pannu's Properties, Premises Of Talent Agency, Phantom Films In Mumbai