On 18 August 2026, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) announced that the Income Tax Department had undertaken a nationwide verification exercise into suspicious foreign remittances identified through data analytics and ground intelligence.
According to the CBDT, the findings emerged during a search operation on a group of fictitious charitable trusts allegedly involved in providing accommodation entries against bogus donations and contributions. The investigation uncovered a network of entities engaged in remitting funds abroad under questionable circumstances.
Key Takeaways:
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The Income Tax Department identified several suspicious entities that remitted large amounts of foreign exchange abroad over the last three years.
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The entities were detected during a search operation involving fictitious charitable trusts allegedly engaged in providing accommodation entries against bogus donations and contributions.
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Preliminary ground verification revealed that many of the entities were either non-filers or reported very small turnovers in their income-tax returns, which showed no apparent correlation with the substantial amounts remitted abroad.
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The remittances also appeared inconsistent with the stated purposes, including payments for freight, software imports and consulting service imports.
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Ground-level intelligence indicated that several entities were not operating from their declared addresses.
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Data analysis revealed that a relatively small group of professionals had issued a large number of Form 15CB certificates.
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The remitted funds were received by a clustered group of overseas entities, while the Department also expressed concerns about whether adequate due diligence was exercised before issuing Form 15CB certificates.
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Under Form 15CB read with Rule 37BB of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 (Income-tax Rules, 2026: Form 146 read with Rule 220), accountants certifying foreign remittances are required to verify the taxability of the remittance based on books of account and supporting documents.
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The verification exercise focuses on shell entities, persons behind such entities and professionals who issued Form 15CB certificates.
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The exercise covers approximately 394 entities, including 117 entities located in land-border States, and 36 professionals.
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Entities located in districts along India’s land borders and involved in significant outward remittances have been specifically covered in the verification drive.
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The CBDT has emphasised that accountants certifying foreign remittances must exercise due care, diligence and professional judgment before issuing Form 15CB/Form 146 certificates.
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[CBDT Press Release, dated 18-8-2026]
