NEW DELHI: Keen to unearth black money, the NDA government has unveiled a new scheme under which those with undisclosed income and assets located in India can come clean by paying a tax of 45%. Unlike a scheme giving opportunity to those with undisclosed foreign assets to come clean, which is largely seen to have failed, this plan provides immunity from prosecution. As per the scheme, anyone who is non-compliant can come clean by paying tax at 30%, a surcharge of 7.5% plus penalty of 7.5%, taking it to a total tax rate of 45%.All forms of assets would be covered under the window. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the scheme was not an amnesty like the famous Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS) unveiled in 1997 which is widely seen as a success as it netted the government around Rs 10,000 crore of revenue. In response to a PIL challenging VDIS , the then government had assured the Supreme Court that this was the last tax amnesty scheme, a promise widely seen as tying the hands of future governments.“There is monumental income tax law changes which I have made... It’s not a VDIS and it is not an amnesty,” Jaitley said in an interview after the Budget.“Inequality (between taxpapers) arises in amnesty,” he said. “You as an honest tax payer paid 30% and I come and join after 20 years and say that I would also pay 30%. So you are paying penalties for not paying tax on time. This (scheme) is intending to bring some money from outside the system into the system,” he said.The government plans to open the compliance window under the Income Tax Disclosure Scheme from June 1 to September 30, 2016. Those availing the scheme have the option of paying the amount due within 2 months of declaration of undisclosed income.“The aim is to widen the tax net and provide an opportunity to the domestic tax payers who have not paid full taxes in the past to come forward and disclose their undisclosed income and assets. The proposed effective tax rate of 45% is quite encouraging, in comparison to similar schemes introduced in the past. Also, another positive is that immunity will be provided from prosecution, subject to prescribed provisions,” said Vikas Vasal, partner-tax, KPMG in India.Experts say the scheme should be construed as an opportunity for tax offenders to come clean. “The scheme gives a window to persons having black money to come clean. Rather than considering the scheme as a getaway for black-money holders, it should be construed as an opportunity given to such persons to redeem themselves. An explicit immunity from extra scrutiny of such person’s income in the future would help in achieving larger success for the scheme,” said Kaushik Mukerjee, Partner (Tax & Regulatory Services), PwC.Sanjay Sanghvi, partner, Khaitan & Co, said there is need for more clarity in the implementation of the scheme. “While the concept is good, how it will be practically implemented is not clear. This scheme contains restrictions similar to those that were put by the government last year for disclosure under black money Act,” Sanghvi said.Last year the black money window for undisclosed foreign assets yielded Rs 2,428.4 crore in tax to the government, much less than the amount expected. A total of 644 declarations were made under the compliance window provided in the new black money law, which closed on September 30, 2015, involving an amount of Rs 4,164 crore. Those declaring under the window were liable to pay tax at the rate of 30% and an equal amount of 30% by way of penalty on the value of assets declared by December 31, 2015.