IT department sets up Expenditure Monitoring Mechanism for Telangana Elections duty

HYDERABAD: The Directorate General of Income Tax (Investigation), Hyderabad, has deployed approximately 150 officers and formed Quick Response Teams (QRT) in each of the 33 districts for election duty.

The Election Commission of India's guidelines mandate that if over Rs10 lakh in cash is found suspected of crime or party linkage, the Static Surveillance Team(SST)/ Flying Surveillance Team(FST) would seize it and report it to the Income-Tax authority, for necessary action under Income - Tax Laws.

The Directorate General of Income Tax (Investigation) has established a 24x7 control room and complaint monitoring cell to address public complaints about illegitimate use of cash during the election process, said Sanjay Bahadur, Director General of Income Tax (Investigation).

Air Intelligence Units (AIU) were established at Begumpet Airport and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport for 24/7 surveillance, in collaboration with CISF, focusing on cash and valuable movement. All Indian airports with Hyderabad connectivity were asked to maintain continuous alertness for passengers travelling to the city.

The Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) App would also be used for the first time by ECI in this election for verification of seizure reports.

Following election notification, the police/FST has received seizure reports of Rs 53.93 crore in cash, 156 Kgs of gold jewellery and 454 Kgs of silver. The Income Tax Department seized Rs. 1.76 Cr of unexplained cash, while no gold jewellery was found to be unexplained.

The real-time verification of seizures data is being conducted within 24 hours. The Investigation Directorate is gathering data from various sources, including the State Level Bankers Committee, and analysing the digital intelligence database of the Income Tax department.

This exercise aims to identify high-value cash transactions that raise suspicion about their potential use for funding election campaigns. Appropriate action under law would be undertaken in such cases.

Based on in-house intelligence, the Department conducted search and survey measures under Sections 132/133 of the Income Tax Act, resulting in the seizure of Rs 14.8 crore cash, in addition to what was referred to the State Police authorities.