Business News : Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday felicitated a team of the Income Tax Department, which had seized the highest-ever cash seizure of Rs 352 crore in the country during a raid against a distillery group in Odisha last year. 

Officers awarded 'CBDT Certificate of Excellence'

In a special event organized to mark the completion of 165 years of the Income Tax Department in India, the Union Minister awarded the 'CBDT Certificate of Excellence' to the Income Tax team led by Principal Director of Income Tax Investigation S.K. Jha and Additional Director Gurpreet Singh in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha. 

351.8 crore rupees were seized in the raid that lasted for 10 days

Gurpreet Singh, a 2010 batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), played a key role in conducting raids on several premises of a distillery group based in Odisha on December 6 last year based on 'intelligence information'. The Income Tax Department's search operation lasted for 10 days. During this, a total of Rs 351.8 crore cash was recovered, which was described as 'the biggest seizure in a single operation by any agency' in the country. 

These officers were also honoured

Nirmala Sitharaman also handed over certificates to two other members of that team of the Income Tax Department - Income Tax Deputy Director H.K. Das and Income Tax Inspector P.K. Singh. This award has been instituted for the first time by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the administrative body of the Income Tax Department. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary was also present during the program organized at Vigyan Bhavan here.

Nirmala Sitharaman expressed gratitude to taxpayers.

On the occasion of the completion of 165 years in the income tax department, the union finance minister also thanked the country's taxpayers. Nirmala Sitharaman said, "I express my heartfelt gratitude to our honest taxpayers, due to whose welfare, development and aspirations, India's economy is running today."