In a scene reminiscent of luxury and opulence, a Rolls Royce, a Porsche, and a Lamborghini, all adorned with the license plate '4018', stand proudly as a man strikes a pose exuding the flamboyance of a Hrithik Roshan character from a popular song in 'Kaho Na Pyaar Hai'.
Meet Shivam Mishra, scion of a prominent tobacco company, now at the center of multi-state raids conducted by the Income Tax department. These raids targeted Banshidhar Tobacco Company, unveiling a complex financial web spanning across states and even overseas.
The meticulously executed raids, spanning over 20 locations including Kanpur, Delhi, Mumbai, and Gujarat, have uncovered glaring discrepancies in the company's reported turnover. Sources indicate a substantial disparity between the declared income and the actual turnover.
Deploying fifteen to twenty teams across five states, the Income Tax department meticulously combed through every aspect of Banshidhar Tobacco Company's operations. The outcome? A jaw-dropping discovery of luxury cars valued at a staggering ₹50 crore, including a Rolls-Royce Phantom priced at ₹16 crore, discovered at Shivam Mishra's residence in Delhi's Vasant Vihar. Among the other luxury cars seized from Mishra's home were a McLaren, a Porsche, and a Lamborghini. Furthermore, the raids yielded a confiscation of ₹4.5 crores in cash along with numerous incriminating documents.
The root of this scandal lies with KK Mishra, the patriarch of the tobacco empire. Banshidhar Tobacco Private Limited, a prominent player in the tobacco industry supplying products to major pan masala groups, has declared an income of ₹20 to 25 crore while the actual turnover is estimated at ₹100-150 crore.
These raids have not only exposed the company's evasion of income tax laws but also its violation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) regulations.