The Comptroller and Auditor General has found civil construction companies misusing various tax exemptions, and has suggested the preparation of a “complete and accurate" database of the entities in the sector to plug revenue leakages.
The apex audit body said its analysis in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu indicated residential construction projects targeting higher-income groups to avail tax incentives, “thereby frustrating the legislative intent behind it". This, when Section 80IB(10) was introduced to incentivise building of housing for low- and middle-income groups, said the latest audit on the ‘Business of Civil Construction’.