The Income Tax (IT) Department on Wednesday conducted raids at multiple premises of Hero Motorcorp as part of a tax evasion investigation against the company.
Offices and residential premises of the company, including that of Pawan Munjal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, located in Gurugram (Haryana), Delhi and a few other locations were being covered, officials at the IT department said.
‘Business as usual’
Hero MotoCorp confirmed the raids and said, “Officials from the Income Tax department visited two of our offices in Delhi and Gurugram and the residence of our Chairman and CEO Pawan Munjal on Wednesday. We have been informed that this is a routine inquiry, which is not uncommon before the end of the financial year.”
The company in a statement said it reassures all its stakeholders that it continues to be business as usual. “We at Hero MotoCorp are an ethical and law-abiding corporate, and maintain the highest standards of impeccable corporate governance. In keeping with this philosophy, we are extending our full cooperation to the authorities,” it added.
Other raids
Hero MotoCorp is not the only company that the IT department has raided in the recent past. On Tuesday, the department conducted raids on several premises linked to real estate company Hiranandani Group for suspected tax evasion and searched around 24 locations, including residences of some top officials, in Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru.
On March 14, it also raided one of the largest real estate groups, Omaxe, and conducted searches in 45 premises in Delhi and NCR, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Lucknow and Indore. And, according to a statement by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said Omaxe allegedly indulged in “unaccounted” cash transactions with customers to the tune of over ₹3,000 crore.