IT Amendments: On one side, the government is facing the heat over the demonetization move as the opposition parties are protesting by marking today as ‘Jan-Aakrosh Divas’, saying that common people are suffering from the government’s demonetization move. On the other side, Government is not looking to change its stand on demonetization.
In an attempt to punish the Income defaulters, Government of India has revised the Income Tax(IT) Act and proposed some amendments. And The Central government, on Monday tabled amendments to the Income Tax Amendment Bill in its bid to check large, unaccounted cash deposits post demonetisation.
Amendments proposed in IT Act by Centre:
According to sources from PTI, the government has proposed 30% tax on undisclosed income, along with 10% penalty and 33% surcharge. But this is only for the defaulters who willingly accept their fault and declare their unaccounted money and properties.
And for those, whom unauthorised properties and undisclosed income would be detected by the government authorities, a 75 percent tax and 10% percent penalty has also been proposed in case the Income Tax authorities detect undisclosed wealth deposited post demonetisation.
The new IT amendment also proposes that 25% of the undisclosed income to be deposited in the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme.
There may not be a blanket reprieve for anyone depositing demonetised notes up to Rs 2.5 lakh under the scheme being worked out by the government for those holding unaccounted cash. Tax officials may look at all significant deposits of demonetised notes to see if there is unaccounted wealth or smaller deposits in a household in different family members’ accounts.
“There is a Rs 2.5 lakh exemption but if you have split (the money) and four family members have each deposited this amount, then it will need to be seen,” said a government official.
“We would be getting reports of all cash deposited during the period of November 10 to December 30 above a threshold of Rs 2.5 lakh in every account,” Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia had said on November 10. “The department would do matching of this with income returns filed by the depositors. And suitable action may follow.”
