Tax liability of Kolkata shell firms stands at Rs 40,000 cr

Out of 331 shell companies banned by Sebi for trading, nearly 150 are from Kolkata alone

Shell companies in Kolkata —numbering in the thousands — have a tax liability of about Rs 40,000 crore, according to sources in the income-tax (I-T) department.
 
Of the 331 ‘shell’ companies recently flagged by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), nearly 150 are from the West Bengal capital alone.
 
The capital markets regulator directed stock exchanges on Monday to immediately restrict trading in these firms, identified as “shell companies” by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in consultation with the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and the I-T department.
 
The I-T department had initiated