The chit fund empire in West Bengal appears to be even bigger than the ministry of corporate affairs’ (MCA) list of 73 companies as the income-tax (I-T) department of the finance ministry has zeroed in on more than two dozen fresh entities, running collective investment schemes (CIS) in the state. The central agency has launched a massive crackdown on them. The number of additional chit fund firms which are under the scanner now is 26, according to the I-T department. Director of I-T (investigation), Kolkata, Bishwanath Jha, shared the list and the MCA’s in a sensational letter (15/2013-14/487-94) on May 6 with all the chief commissioners of I-T urging action. The copies of the two page-letter with both the lists are in possession of this newspaper.
Mr Jha wrote, “However, the MCA list contains the names of only those companies against whom complaints have been received. There are many more that are reportedly into this business of running CIS but do not find any mention on the MCA list. The directorate of investigation, Kolkata has also prepared a list of such entities based on the FIU information, Internet information and market intelligence. Many names in this list are mentioned as a group and not the name of the individual company. I wish to inform you that in the market these entities are known as groups only. One group, depending on the size, may have many companies under its fold.”
Informing about the I-T action, Mr Jha disclosed, “The directorate of investigation, Kolkata, has investigated seven of these companies. In the course of the investigation, we found that under the facade of real business they are conducting a typical ponzi scheme.” Explaining the I-T law violations by these companies, he mentioned, “The only major violation of the provisions of the Income-Tax Act, 1961, is no deduction of tax at source from the huge amount of commission they pay to their agents. They also siphon off cash by showing inflated payments for assets or expenses. Instances have come to light where only the net deposit after paying commission is accounted for in the books.” On these companies’ operations, he said, “The commission paid is huge ranging from 15 per cent to 30 per cent. The agents are mostly freelancers and not the employees of the fund. Commission is their only remuneration. They operate in a group.”