MUMBAI: The government is likely to embark on a long drawn battle with some high net worth individuals (HNIs), who may have stashed money abroad as suggested by the Panama papers The income tax department is expected to start issuing notices to all the HNIs whose names have appeared in the confidential documents that were leaked from a Panamanian law firm, people with the knowledge of the matter said.“They would be asked to explain their stand regarding the Panama leaks in the next few months,” said one of the people. However, the whole process could take as much as 10 years — assuming the government continues the legal battle — till it could draw a conclusion.On Monday, many HNIs rushed to their legal and tax experts to understand the implications of the Panama Leaks. “Many of the HNIs have already declared their wealth to the Indian government under the wealth declaration scheme of last year,” said a New Delhi-based tax expert who advises two people whose names have appeared in the documents. In 2015, Rs 4,147 crore were declared by many people. Most of the people who declared their wealth were professionals.The HNIs could be sent notices by the income tax department to explain their incomes. Also, some of the HNIs could be tried under FEMA (Foreign Exchange and Management Act).The Panama Leaks could come to haunt those who have not declared the money, said industry trackers. “By 2013-14, many people had already created new structures and had removed the money. While there are some well-known faces in the Panama leak, the amount is not much,” said another tax expert based out of Mumbai.About 11 million documents held by Mossack Fonseca , the Panama law firm, were printed by many newspapers around the world. About 500 Indians, including some well-known people, reportedly figure on the list.But many legal experts said it would be tough for the government to continue the cases in the court of law. A well-known lawyer told ET: “The Panama List is all hat and no cattle … It would be tough to establish the authenticity of the documents, and if these are leaked documents they may not be admissible in the court of law. But this whole process could see reputation risk and harassment of these HNIs.”Industry trackers said the people whose names have appeared in on the list would not be able to declare their wealth in the ongoing black money declaration scheme, as it is only about declaring domestic assets. “Why do you think some 4,000 people became NRIs in last one year,” asked the Mumbai-based tax expert. “Many people knew what was coming and have shifted to other countries. Yet, this could mean that their properties in India could be in trouble, depending on what action is taken by the government.”