Govt detects Rs 1,761.09 crore undisclosed income till June

The government has detected an undisclosed income of Rs 1,761.09 crore while it seized Rs 75.37 crore in a total of 41 searches till June this fiscal, Parliament was informed today.
In 2014-15, the government seized Rs 761.70 crore in 545 searches, Rs 807.84 crore in 569 cases in 2013-14 and Rs 575.08 crore in 422 searches in 2012-13, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said in Lok Sabha.
The respective undisclosed income during these years were at Rs 10,288.05 crore, Rs 10,791.63 crore and Rs 10,291.61 crore.
In terms of prosecutions, four persons have been convicted as of May, 2015, while 45 cases of prosecutions were launched, and 75 cases of compounding of petitions were disposed of, Sinha added.

There were 34 convictions in 2014-15, 41 in 2013-14 and 10 in 2012-13, respectively.
"The existing laws to deal with evasion of direct taxes include Income Tax Act and the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015," he said.

Sinha said the Black Money Imposition of Tax Act provides for substantially enhanced amount of penalty for failure to furnish the return of income by a person being resident in India.
"It also provides for rigorous imprisonment up to 7 years with fine for willful failure to furnish the return of income in applicable cases," he added.

Further, the minister informed that to curb domestic black money, the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015 has been introduced to amend the Benami Transactions Act, 1988.
The proposed amendment bill on its enactment will enable confiscation of benami property and provide for prosecution, thus blocking a major avenue for generation and holding of tax evaded money in the form of benami property, especially in real estate, he added.