The Income Tax Department on Monday carried out massive search operations across the country targeting individuals and organisations accused of helping people claim fake tax deductions.

Raids are underway at more than 200 locations linked to those suspected of assisting taxpayers in fraudulently claiming deductions across different categories, such as political donations, educational expenses, and medical costs.

A major focus of the operation is on the misuse of deductions under Section 80GGC, which allows taxpayers to claim a deduction on contributions made to registered political parties.

Investigators have found that several intermediaries were involved in creating fake donation records, often through unregistered or suspicious entities, to help individuals illegally lower their tax liabilities.

In addition to political contributions, the raids are also targeting networks accused of enabling false claims on tuition fees, medical reimbursements, and other tax-deductible expenses.

These searches are part of a broader national drive to stop the widespread misuse of deductions allowed under the old tax regime. Officials said that many taxpayers have taken advantage of paperless return filing to submit inflated deduction claims without proper supporting documents.

This action follows the Income Tax Department’s recent “NUDGE” initiative in which taxpayers were notified about questionable or unsupported deduction claims in their filings and were urged to submit revised or updated returns.