The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex policy making body of the I-T, said the taxman has taken the action after it was suspected that a number of bogus or 'entry operator' companies were converting illegal cash into legitimate money in the national capital by donating black money to parties after similar instances were detected by its sleuths in Kolkata.
"The notices which have been issued in Delhi include the AAP and Congress for receiving donations worth Rs 2 crore and Rs 10 lakh respectively. The investigations wing of the department has taken up the cases based on information obtained through media reports and preliminary inquiry done subsequently," a senior I-T officer said.
The officer added that in the 48 other cases, there are instances of "routed" donations made to entities associated with some political parties that are present and are in power in some eastern and western states.
"I-T department had initiated investigation into issuance of cheques by companies which are acting as entry operators to convert illegal cash into legitimate money. Recently in Kolkata, this investigation led to detection of substantial unaccounted income. In these cases, the unaccounted income was sought to be converted into legitimate money with the help of non-genuine companies which were acting as entry operators.
"Similarly and based on media reports, enquiry was initiated in Delhi into issuance of cheques by companies which were alleged to be non-genuine and entry operators. The companies and their Directors could not be traced at the addresses given to banks and Ministry of Corporate Affairs," the CBDT said.