Noida: The income tax department has carried out a nationwide survey across 45 cities, including Noida, Ghaziabad and Lucknow, targeting the restaurant and food service sector for allegedly manipulating sales records to avoid paying taxes. Officials said this followed an AI-driven analysis flagging several businesses that allegedly manipulated the records maintained in their accounting systems and point-of-sale (POS) machines. The surveys were launched by the investigative wing of the I-T department as part of the follow-up to a Rs 70,000-crore sales suppression probe linked to billing software manipulation to evade tax. Pan-India the department is surveying around 70 restaurants. The excercise was carried out under the directions of the Central Board of Direct Taxes under Section 133A of the Income Tax Act.In UP, searches were carried out at some well-known establishments. Among them were Bansal Bikaner in Bulandshahr, Agarwal Bikaneri Sweets in Noida and Loknath Sweets in Ghaziabad. Officials collected digital evidence, including electronic records, accounting software data and server logs.A preliminary analysis of the seized materials indicates that some restaurant operators adopted various technological methods to under-report their sales and conceal taxable income. The investigators found that certain taxpayers have systematically deleted transaction data at regular intervals. In some cases, back-end manipulation of accounting software and the use of multiple databases were allegedly employed to hide actual sales figures. The evidence is under forensic investigation. Authorities said their final findings will determine the scale of the alleged tax evasion and identify the parties involved.The nationwide action followed an earlier crackdown in Telangana where deatiled inspections and surveys were conducted in about 40 restaurants, with suspected evasion estimated over Rs 490 crore. Officials said with the growing use of technology in financial transactions, the department is increasingly relying on data analytics and AI to identify tax evasion. The department has advised taxpayers who may have under-reported their income to voluntarily update their disclosures and pay theirdues. The officials said timely compliance could help such taxpayers avoid penalties, legal consequences and prosecution.
