'Black money declaration may cross Rs 1,000cr'

CHENNAI: With just four days to go for the income disclosure scheme in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to come to a close, the income tax department expects the declaration of unaccounted money to cross Rs 1,000 crore.Though officials would not disclose the exact amount of the declaration so far, sources told TOI that it is likely to be in this range.
“We have sent notices to 80,000 individuals, companies and others, based on information that they have plenty of unaccounted money or assets.This includes film personalities, professional college owners who received capitation fee, jewellers, real estate dealers, politicians, stock brokers and businessmen. Several have joined the scheme,“ a senior income tax official told TOI. The scheme began on June 1, and will end on September 30.
“Among the people who have declared their unacco unted money , some have not paid income tax so far as they don't have a permanent account number (PAN). So we had to generate a PAN for them. Some of the jewellers had unaccounted money as well as gold in their possession,“ said the official.
The official said many within the department were unaware of the details of the disclosures as they had assured people that they would not make their identities public if they declared black money voluntarily . We can assure individuals and companies that secrecy will be maintained. We will not share the details with any other department like commercial tax or excise.Most of those who have come forward to declare unaccounted money use the online forms and pay the tax of 45% of the declared amount to banks,“ he said.
The department has come across some companies showing bogus liabilities in the balance sheet. “We have asked companies with bogus liabilities to re-do their accounts. There is no proper source for the accounts on the asset side of the balance sheet,“ said the official. He said they have received complaints about conmen posing as income tax officials and asking for details from individuals and companies. People are requested to ask for identity cards if people claiming to represent the income tax department come for verification or contact the department for confirmation, the official said. In the coming days, the department is hoping more people will come forward to declare unaccounted money. “Notices issued after June 1, 2016 alone will be included in the scheme,“ he said.