Mumbai, April 6: The search and survey operations by the income tax department on Suzlon Energy continued for the second day today.

The offices of Suzlon Energy and its subsidiaries as well as the premises of other wind-mill firms have been searched since Wednesday. Authorities are probing whether wind-mill owners have evaded tax by claiming false depreciation benefits.

Officials of Suzlon acknowledged that searches were conducted and added that the company is co-operating with the tax authorities. In a statement issued today, the company said its operations would not be affected by these searches.

Some of the group companies of Suzlon that were searched include Suzlon Windfarm Services, Suzlon NG Tech, Sunset Wind Farm and Suzlon Infrastructure. According to reports, apart from Suzlon, other wind-mill farms have also been searched.

The IT department is conducting the search as it feels that many windmill companies have been claiming false depreciation and thereby evading taxes without even generating any electricity.

Suzlon, which is Asia’s largest wind power company and the sixth largest globally, was recently in the news when it acquired Hansen Transmissions International NV (Hansen) based in Belgium for an enterprise value of 465 million euros ($565 million) in an all-cash transaction. Hansen is one of the largest wind energy and industrial gearbox manufacturers in the world.