Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The ongoing Income Tax raids on Science House Medical Private Limited have uncovered large-scale tax evasion, with officials reportedly seizing around Rs 1 crore in cash.
The investigation is still in progress, and authorities are sifting through investment-related and other incriminating documents.
Sources said that I-T officials stumbled upon a network of shell companies allegedly formed to conceal income and evade taxes. Bank transactions and I-T returns of the company are being closely scrutinised, particularly those involving company owner Jitendra Tiwari and his family.
Officials suspect involvement in bogus billing practices, prompting a detailed examination of the firm’s billing records. The search has also extended to Rajesh Gupta, allegedly involved in supplying medical equipment to the company.
Big contracts, poor service
A senior officer of National Health Mission told Free Press that Science House was engaged in June 2020 through two tenders for providing diagnostic tests in government hospitals on a five-year contract.
One tender was for District and Civil Hospitals, covering 101 types of tests, including lipid profile, diabetic tests, CBC, hormonal tests and more. The second tender was part of the urban spoke model, under which samples collected from remote areas were processed at the company’s centralised testing facility.
Despite a net worth running into several hundred crores, the company was penalised almost every month due to substandard test reports or non-functioning machines, as per clauses in the tender. In some cases, penalties reached up to Rs 1 crore.
Science House was initially brought in to avoid the high cost of installing diagnostic machines in public hospitals, but has now come under fire for quality lapses and irregularities, compounded by tax evasion allegations.
