Police probing the alleged “biryani tax scam” have revealed that artificial intelligence and big data analytics played a key role in uncovering what is estimated to be a ₹70,000 crore tax evasion racket spread across India.
The investigation, which began with routine checks of biryani restaurants in Hyderabad, expanded after officials detected large-scale manipulation of billing software used by eateries across the country.
Police and tax officials have analysed a massive billing database used by more than one lakh restaurants, examining nearly 60 terabytes of data linked to around 1.77 lakh restaurant IDs, as reported by The Times of India.
Officials used computer tools and artificial intelligence to study billing patterns and found that bills were often deleted or altered after customers had paid, allowing restaurants to under-report their incomes and evade taxes.
How police uncovered the massive scam
Police relied on big data analysis and AI tools, including Generative AI, to crunch transaction records spanning six financial years from 2019-20 to 2025-26, covering total billing of about ₹2.43 lakh crore, the report stated.
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Across India, post-billing deletions worth more than ₹13,000 crore were detected in the software database, while total suppressed turnover was estimated at around ₹70,000 crore.
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana alone, hidden sales exceeded ₹5,100 crore, as per the report. To verify the digital findings, officials carried out physical checks at 40 restaurants, comparing actual sales with software records, and uncovered nearly ₹400 crore in suppressed sales.
AI tools were also used to map GST numbers to restaurants using open-source and publicly available online information, helping police quickly identify discrepancies, the report added.
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States such as Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat emerged as major hotspots for evasion, with Karnataka logging the highest value of deleted bills.
Based on sample estimates, officials believe around 25 to 27 per cent of restaurant sales may have been suppressed nationwide.
Following the Hyderabad findings, the Central Board of Direct Taxes decided to expand the probe across the country, with officials warning that the current discoveries could be only “the tip of the iceberg”, as several other billing software platforms operate in the sector.
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