New Delhi: The income-tax department has zeroed in on high-value property deals, outward remittances and large cash sales made by at least 60,000 assessees during the demonetisation period, as part of Operation Clean Money launched in January.

The department will conduct detailed investigations into the transactions made by these assessees, of which 1,300 have been identified as “high risk" due to their “excessive cash sales" during the period from 8 November-31 December. More than 6,000 high-value property deals and 6,600 outward remittances will also be probed, the department said in a statement on Friday.

High-value transactions not matching the income profile of the assessee and cash sales higher than what was reported in the months prior to demonetisation are the basis for identifying these cases. Government employees who have made large cash deposits are also being investigated.

The probe marks the second stage of the crackdown on black money following data capture and analysis. The next phase will be framing of charges in cases where the department is not satisfied with the explanations given. Cases where the assessees dispute the department’s finding of tax evasion will end up in courts, starting with the income-tax tribunal.

The income-tax law prescribes between three months and two years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine for proven cases of ‘wilful attempt’ to evade taxes less than or equal to Rs25 lakh. If tax evasion exceeds Rs25 lakh, the punishment is between six months and seven years of rigorous imprisonment and fine.

“The drive will help in addressing the problem of unaccounted wealth. If the leads and evidences the department gathers during the investigation are strong, it will certainly succeed," said Rahul Garg, leader of direct tax practice at consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The income-tax department statement said that since demonetisation, it has detected Rs9,334 crore of undisclosed income and referred about 400 cases to the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

It said the drive had led to receipt of 21.7% more returns of income in FY2017 than received in the previous year. It also led to a jump in net tax collection to the highest in the last three years.

The government received Rs8.47 trillion in net direct taxes in 2016-17 after refunds, 14.2% higher than the net direct taxes collected a year ago.

“The opportunities created by demonetisation are being used by the tax department for widening and deepening of the tax base and creating deterrence, not seen before, and to curb generation of black money in the Indian economy," the statement said.

Verifications of deposits under the amnesty scheme Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana are being closed in cases where explanation of the source of cash is found to be justified, it added. The scheme was launched in December 2016. It allowed holders of unaccounted wealth to come clean by paying a tax and penalty of nearly 50%.

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