 "I-T department collects Rs 15,000 cr")
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The government's Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) has seen a revenue of Rs 6,750 crore for the Income Tax department, as unaccounted money to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore has been disclosed as on September 28, said an official.
The government had opened a four-month window for declaring unaccounted money, which would attract 45 per cent tax, penalty and cess.
The tax department is expecting the number to touch between Rs 25,000 crore and Rs 30,000 crore in the next two days.
The four-month window for disclosing domestic black money deposits will close on September 30. The informal target for the scheme was a tax collection of Rs 40,000-50,000 crore on black money declaration of Rs 1 lakh crore.
On Wednesday, Mumbai topped the 18 income-tax circles in the country with disclosures in the range of Rs 6,000-7,000 crore. New Delhi and Gujarat circles followed at second and third positions, respectively, said the source.
A tax expert who did not want to be named said these figures were lower than expected, especially when the IDS is being compared with the earlier amnesty scheme (of 1997) where the government was able to attract black money disclosure of Rs 33,000 crore and collect about Rs 10,000 crore with 30 per cent tax and no penalty.
However, the department is believed to be working day and night to make the scheme successful. Sources in the tax department said they were attending to every query of taxpayers and were trying to encourage them to disclose their unaccounted money. "We are also conducting surveys on the basis of database from multiples sources," said the official.
The Income Tax Department is said to have identified about 100,000 individuals (including small traders, jewellers, retailers and vendors) as possible tax evaders and more than 1,000 such cases have been surveyed across the country.
"Confidentiality and high tax rate are the key reasons that deter individuals to come clean. However, we have assured them that their information will be kept confidential and that they would not face any prosecution under any other law. Meanwhile, through our multiple sets of frequently asked questions, we have tried to answer every concern raised by the declarants," said the official.
Officials pointed out that stringent action would be taken against those who fail to disclose their black money under the Income Declaration Scheme window and said they have a list of the big evaders who have not declared their hidden income. Soon after the schemes ends, the tax department will start its mega search operations on those who intentionally didn't disclose their black money.
