18 lakh taxpayers to get I-T notices to explain large deposits

Commencing the process of crackdown on large deposits made after November 8, the Income Tax Department has identified 18 lakh taxpayers who will be served notices seeking explanation within 10 days.

According to tax officials, the transactions carried out by these taxpayers post demonetisation seem out of line.

The process has been labelled as "Operation Clean Money", in which data analytics has been made use of to analyse the data received between November 9 and December 30, 2016, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia told media persons at a briefing here on Tuesday.

"I-T Department has initiated Operation Clean Money. Initial phase of the operation involves e-verification of large cash deposits made during November 9 to December 30, 2016.

"Data analytics has been used for comparing the demonetisation data with information in the department's databases," the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement.

"In the first batch, around 18 lakh persons have been identified in whose case, cash transactions do not appear to be in line with the taxpayer's profile. The I-T Department has enabled online verification of these transactions to reduce compliance cost for the taxpayers while optimising its resources," the statement said.

The taxpayers covered in this phase need to submit their response on the portal within 10 days in order to avoid any further notice from the I-T Department and enforcement actions, the statement mentioned.

The information in respect of these cases will be made available in the e-filing window of the taxpayer at the government's e-filing portal.

"E-mail and SMS will also be sent to the taxpayers for submitting an online response on the e-filing portal," it said. A detailed user guide and quick reference guide is available on the portal to assist the taxpayers in submitting an online response.

"Based on the taxpayers' explanation, data analytics will be used to select cases for verification. If the case is selected for verification, request for additional information and its response will also be communicated electronically," it said.

The response of taxpayer will be assessed against available information. In case explanation about the source of cash is found justified, the verification will be closed without any need to visit income tax office, it said.

The verification will also be closed if the cash deposit is declared under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY), it added.