Income Tax Probe: 6 Mumbai Firms Searched Over Large Overseas Payments

Mumbai, 19th August 2026: The Income Tax Department has searched six Mumbai firms as part of a nationwide verification exercise into suspected irregularities in foreign remittances.

The searches in Mumbai are part of a larger exercise covering around 394 entities and 36 professionals across the country, including 117 entities located in districts along India’s land borders, according to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

The department is examining companies that made large overseas payments despite reporting little or no corresponding business activity. Officials are also looking into the individuals behind these entities and the professionals who certified the transactions.

The investigation follows an earlier search involving a group of alleged fictitious charitable trusts suspected of facilitating bogus donations and accommodation entries. That probe reportedly helped investigators identify a wider network involving potentially irregular foreign remittances.

According to the department, some of the entities under scrutiny were either non-filers or had reported very low turnover in their income-tax returns. This was seen as inconsistent with the large amounts they had sent abroad.

The stated purposes of these payments included freight, software imports and consulting services. However, officials said these transactions did not appear to match the financial profiles of the entities involved.

The department also found indications that some entities were not operating from the addresses declared by them, raising questions about their actual operations and the transactions being carried out in their names.

The role of Chartered Accountants who certified the remittances is also being examined. Officials found that a large number of Form 15CB certificates had been issued by a relatively small group of professionals, with the funds later reaching a cluster of entities.

Form 15CB is a certificate issued by a Chartered Accountant for certain foreign remittances and requires the professional to examine the taxability of the transaction based on the relevant books and documents. Under the Income-tax Rules, 2026, the corresponding provision is Form 146.

The department is now checking whether the professionals involved carried out adequate due diligence and verified the underlying transactions and supporting documents before issuing the certificates.

The latest exercise is aimed at determining whether the foreign remittances were backed by genuine transactions and whether the entities and professionals involved complied with applicable tax rules.