Ahmedabad: The Income Tax Department on Sunday launched a nationwide survey at around 60–70 locations to expose a well-organised software-based network allegedly used by restaurants across several States and Union Territories, including Gujarat, to evade taxes on a large scale.

The crackdown was initiated by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) after a routine inspection at a group of biryani restaurants in Hyderabad last month revealed large-scale concealment of sales, estimated at nearly ₹70,000 crore.

The survey began on Sunday morning and covered 60 to 70 locations in around 45 cities, including restaurant chains as well as software and data-management companies linked to billing systems.

Popular restaurants under scanner

At least four well-known restaurants in the national capital came under the survey, including a prominent eatery on Pandara Road and another popular outlet known for North Indian cuisine. Officials also conducted checks at six restaurant locations in Tamil Nadu, two in Kerala, and four in Gujarat, where records and digital data were examined as part of the investigation. In Gujarat, the operation was carried out in Godhra, Dahod, Rajkot, and Ahmedabad.

Though the full extent of tax evasion will become clear after the survey is completed, the suspected irregularities are believed to span nearly seven years, starting from 2019.

According to reports, one of the companies under scrutiny provides Petpooja, a point-of-sale (PoS) billing and restaurant-management software widely used by eateries across the country. The software handles orders, billing, inventory, GST records, and payment tracking, with data stored on central servers for digital management of transactions.

A common pattern in the alleged fraud has emerged in which restaurants first recorded all sales in the system and later deleted selected entries before filing GST returns. The software allegedly also enabled lowering the value shown on bills, a tactic used for under-invoicing to reduce tax liability.

During the initial probe in Hyderabad alone, the department detected under-billing worth about ₹13,317 crore, primarily linked to deleted invoices, sources said. DeshGujarat