Polycab tanks 23% as I-T dept finds Rs 1,000-crore as unaccounted sales

Shares of Polycab India tanked 23 per cent to Rs 3,801 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Thursday’s intra-day trade after the Income Tax (I-T) department detected "unaccounted cash sales" of about Rs 1,000 crore from its recent raids on the company.

A combined around 2.9 million equity shares had changed hands on the counter till 10:04 AM. With today's fall, the stock price of Polycab India has slipped 27 per cent from its record high level of Rs 5,733 touched on December 12, 2023.

It had, until today, zoomed nearly 11 times against its issue price of Rs 538 per share. The company debuted on April 16, 2019. Polycab manufactures and sells cables & wires (C&W), and fast moving electric goods (FMEG) products. It also executes limited engineering, procurement, and construction projects.

That said, Polycab India, on its part, denied any rumours of tax evasion by the company.

In a press release, the company said it asserts its commitment to compliance and transparency, having fully cooperated with the Income Tax Department officials during the search proceedings in December, 2023. The company has not received any communication from the Income-tax department regarding the outcome of the search, it added.

Polycab India further said it remains focused on its mission to provide quality products and services to its customers while upholding the principles of corporate governance and ethical business practices.

However, according to a PTI report, unaccounted cash of more than Rs 4 crore was seized and more than 25 bank lockers were put on restraint after the searches were launched against the group on December 22 last year, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement.

"Preliminary analysis suggests that the flagship company indulged in unaccounted cash sales, cash payments for unaccounted purchases, non-genuine transport and sub-contracting expenses, etc for suppression of its taxable income," cbdt alleged.