Private tuition and coaching classes in the city have come under the scanner of anti-evasion wing of service tax department of central excise and customs.

The department has unearthed Rs 40lakh worth of tax evasion by carrying out search at the business premises of 12 tuition and coaching class owners across the city in the last few days.

Officials said the service tax officials posed as parents and approached the tuition and private coaching classes in different parts of the city. The officials found that the class owners charged hefty fees.

However, when the raids were carried out the officials were shocked when they checked the registers and gathered the details of the fees collected from the students. The fees entered were almost 50% and the registered students were shown 40% less on the rosters.

It is mandatory for the tuition class and private coaching class owners to deposit 14% of the fee charged to the students as service tax. In order to evade the service tax, the tuition class owners were showing few students on the rosters and even the fees was 50% less.

"A campaign has been started against the class owners evading taxes payable to the government exchequer. There are many classes in the city that are not registered with the service tax department and are running the illegal business of coaching the students to earn money," said a senior service tax officer.