Income tax raids on Confidence Petroleum, Confidence Futuristic units in Nagpur and Mumbai

The Income Tax Department on Tuesday, October 7, carried out search operations at the offices and warehouses of Confidence Petroleum India Ltd and its associate firm Confidence Futuristic in Nagpur and Mumbai. The action began early in the morning and continued through the day, targeting premises linked to the companies' CNG and PNG operations.

Zee Business Sources said the searches were part of a wider investigation into possible financial irregularities and compliance violations involving the group's fuel and gas distribution businesses. Officials were seen inspecting accounts, documents and warehouse inventories, including LPG and CNG stock held under the Go Gas brand.

Sources reported that the department is looking into whether the company was storing or trading LPG cylinders without the required stock licence - a violation of existing norms. Officials reportedly examined stock records at the Go Gas warehouse to verify the legality of the storage and sale operations.

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Industrialist Nitin Khara, who heads Confidence Petroleum India Ltd, is also under the scanner. This is not the first time the group has faced scrutiny; similar searches were conducted around six years ago, when unlicensed transactions were allegedly detected at multiple sites.

No response from the company yet

Confidence Petroleum had not issued an official statement or responded to email sent by Zee Business seeking clarification on the ongoing searches. The Income Tax Department has also not released details on the findings or the scale of the operation.

What is an income tax raid? What kind of powers do I-T investigators have?

Income tax raids are search operations conducted by the taxman over suspicion of serious financial crime, such as tax evasion or income concealment.

During these operations, income tax authorities can search business premises, residences, or offices linked with the suspected entities for anything that can serve as evidence, including cash, documents or assets.

The raids are aimed at ensuring tax compliance while unearthing financial irregularities.

Typically, the following powers are vested in income tax investigators:

• Entry and search
• Asset seizure
• Summoning
• Examination
• Surveys