Letters: Too accommodating?

Apropos the report, "Ban cash transactions of above Rs 3 lakh to curb black money: SIT" the Supreme Court-appointed special investigative team's recommendation aimed at curbing black money generation is a step in the right direction.

While I appreciate the SIT's concern, I wish it had spelt out the rationale behind fixing the limit on cash transactions and cash holdings by an individual or business units. What is so sacrosanct about the proposed limit?

The basic problem is how to effectively implement a scheme. Don't we already have enough taxation laws to deal with the black money problem? But not much headway seems to have been made due to the lackadaisical approach of the enforcement agencies. How else can one explain the need to frequently announce persuasive schemes such as the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016, the window for which was to be open from June 1 to September 30? The government has now not only extended the deadline for payment of tax and penalty till September 2017 but has also allowed applicants to pay the due amount in three instalments by that date. Earlier the tax, surcharge and penalty under the black money disclosure window were required to be paid by November 30 of each year.

Why this change of heart? Why was the requisite homework not done earlier? Is the government apprehensive that this scheme, too, will fail, as an earlier one seeking self-declaration of foreign assets held by Indian nationals abroad had? Isn't the government being overly accommodating to tax violators, who it wanted to target in the first place? Does it not speak volumes about the failure of the Central Board of Direct Taxes to keep tabs in the digital era?

S Kumar, New Delhi

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