In a survey at a single property at the Janakpuri District Centre, the VAT department unearthed VAT evasion of several thousand crores when it came across at least 150 firms and transporters, all of which exist only on paper.

Sources said that the department had received specific information from its business intelligence unit about illegal activity being conducted from the premises. "The enforcement team went for a `survey' and came across around 150 firms and transport companies which do not exist at all. There was a ton of documents which made it clear that there was no business being transacted though we also found several fake receipts. There were about 52 firms registered in Delhi while the remaining are registered in states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana," said an official.

In fact, there were some 30 to 40 telephones also registered under the names of the fake companies. "If one were to call on any of these numbers, someone would pick up and say they were speaking from the particular transport company . Several people who were at the site were detained for questioning and the department would be filing FIRs against them for violation of the VAT Act and provisions of the penal code.One can imagine the extent of the fraud when you realize that more than 100 companies were operating from a single premise in the district centre," said a source.

The exercise started at 4pm and continued late into the night. Government officials said that the find would have serious interstate ramifications, considering the extent of possible tax evasion.