Black Money Window: No Significant Addition To Rs 65,250 Crore Declarations, Says Report

Press Trust of India

23 Oct 2016, 07:41 PM IST

Under the Income Declaration Scheme, a sum of Rs 65,250 crore untaxed income was disclosed.

New Delhi: Undeclared wealth of Rs 65,250 crore disclosed under the one-time compliance window has not seen any significant addition as tax authorities have completed scrutiny of all the filings, sources said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had on October 1 announced India's biggest ever black money haul when he disclosed provisional numbers of filings made in the four-month compliance window ended September 30.

As many as 64,275 declarants disclosed a sum of Rs 65,250 crore on which no tax was previously paid.

Mr Jaitley had said these were provisional numbers and a final tally would be arrived at after counting all the postal and other declarations.

Earlier this month, ICAI President M Devaraja Reddy had said that as per information from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), more than Rs 71,000 crore of undisclosed income was declared under the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS).

He had also said "the amount could go up and not come down". However, officials involved in the process said that exercise is over and there has not been any significant addition to the wealth disclosed.

They added that the government may not come out with any separate press statement on the final number of declarants or the sum disclosed, but the tax collected from all the declarations will get reflected when it publishes the monthly direct tax collection numbers in November.

The declarants have to pay a total of 45 per cent tax and penalty on the wealth disclosed in three instalments up to September 30, 2017. At least half of that tax amount has to be paid this fiscal year.

The government had offered a one-time chance to holders of income and assets that had illegally escaped taxes, to come clean by paying 45 per cent in tax and penalty.

Officials further said that the tax department will maintain the secrecy of the disclosures and no enquiry or investigation will be launched on undisclosed income and assets declared under the scheme even if evidence is found subsequently during search or survey proceedings.

Specific information on declarations will not be shared with anyone including investigating agencies like CBI and official auditor CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General).