Actor Sonu Sood Evaded Tax of Over Rs. 20Cr: IT Dept

The Income Tax department said that Bollywood actor Sonu Sood evaded taxes of over Rs. 20crore after conducting raids at his Mumbai residence for three consecutive days.

The I-T raids followed Sood's announcement to tie up with Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi.

According to the tax department, Sonu Sood's non profit organisation raised Rs 2.1 crore from overseas donors in violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulator) Act under the ambit of the law, reported Times Now.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in a statement said, "During the course of search at the premises of the actor and his associates, incriminating evidences pertaining to tax evasion have been found. The main modus operandi followed by the actor had been to route his unaccounted income in the form of bogus unsecured loans from many bogus entities."

"Investigations so far have revealed use of 20 such entries, the providers of which, on examination, have accepted on oath to have given bogus accommodation entries. They have accepted to have issued cheques in lieu of cash. There have been instances where professional receipts have been camouflaged as loans in the books of accounts for the purpose of evasion of tax. It has also been revealed that these bogus loans have been used for making investments and acquiring properties. The total amount of tax evaded unearthed so far, amounts to more than Rs. 20 crore," the tax department further added.

According to I-T department's allegations, against the actor who captured public imagination for his philanthropic activities, his non-profit organisation Sood Foundation set up in July 2020 during first wave of Covid-19 pandemic, collected donations of Rs 18 crore out of which only Rs 1.9 crore were spent while Rs 17 crore lies idle in non-profit's bank account.

According to reports, a real estate deal between Sonu Sood's company and a Lucknow real estate firm is also under the scanner. The I-T survey began on the basis of this deal, the report said.

"The simultaneous search operations carried out at various premises of an infrastructure group in Lucknow in which the actor has entered into a joint venture real estate project and invested substantial funds, have resulted in unearthing of incriminating evidences pertaining to tax evasion and irregularities in the books of account," the tax department said in the statement on Saturday.

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