Hyderabad: A chartered accountant and his associates have been booked for foreign remittance fraud worth Rs 464.8 crore in Hyderabad through two shell companies in 2022-23.
The Central Crime Station registered a case on August 22 based on a complaint by G Krishna Rao, IRS, Deputy Director of Income Tax (Investigation), FAIU-1, Hyderabad. The First Information Report (FIR) names chartered accountant Hari Shankar Reddy Renati and others as accused.
The alleged remittances occurred during financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23. According to a report by The New Indian Express, the revenue department raided the premises of the accused on August 18. As per the FIR, Form 15CB certificates were allegedly issued without checks.
The case is based on Form 15CB certificates issued for Clickwin Techno Solutions LLP, registered in Pune, Maharashtra, and Stockpile Softech Solutions Pvt Ltd, registered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
Form 15CB is a tax determination certificate issued by a Chartered Accountant (CA) for foreign remittances over Rs 5 lakh in a financial year.
According to the FIR, companies sending funds abroad are required, in applicable transactions, to furnish Form 15CB certified by a chartered accountant under Rule 37BB of the Income Tax Rules.
The certification involves examining the transaction, agreements and supporting records and determining the tax implications before remittance through an authorised dealer bank.
The investigation revealed that Renati issued multiple Form 15CB certificates for the two entities without examining their books of accounts, agreements or supporting documents.
The FIR alleges that the entities were fictitious or shell concerns which were not operating from their registered addresses and had not filed income tax returns.
During physical verification of Stockpile Softech Solutions Pvt Ltd’s registered office, investigators found that the premises had been occupied by another company, eProSoft India Private Limited, for the past five years.
According to the FIR, the CA’s certificates were relied upon by banks while processing the transactions, allowing the entities to remit a total of Rs 464.8 crore outside India during the two financial years.
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