 "500, 1000 notes")
The government's efforts to get people to disclose unaccounted cash deposited in banks after demonetisation have received a muted response.
At the end of February, the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), also known as the Income Declaration Scheme II, saw declarations of Rs 2,500 crore, of which the Mumbai circle accounted for Rs 500 crore.
Offering a final option to holders of black money, the government had on December 17 provided them time until March 31 to come clean on deposits of banned currency notes in banks after demonetisation.
For those holding unaccounted cash, the PMGKY proposed to tax 50% of the declared amount and park 25% in an interest-free deposit for four years.
The informal tax collection target for the scheme was over Rs 75,000 crore, double that of the Income Disclosure Scheme I, which closed last year. To collect that amount, the disclosure would have to be to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh crore. The scheme is part of the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 2016, approved by the Lok Sabha in December 2016.
The tepid collection has prompted the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to conduct a video conference with tax officials across the country for a plan to make the scheme successful.
Sources said taxmen were asked to focus on the 1.8 million individuals who had deposited Rs 4.5 lakh crore identified under Operation Clean Money. These individuals had come under scrutiny because their cash deposits did not match their tax profiles.
The income tax department has asked the 1.8 million individuals to explain the source of their deposits and has received 750,000 responses. Assessing officers have been asked to consider the remarks provided in the online verification and seek information to quantify any unexplained income.
The income tax department will also contact the 1.05 million individuals who have not responded to its request for online verification.
The CBDT also said the verification of each case should be completed only when each information record was verified and marked acceptable. Other cases would be escalated to the Directorate of Systems, source added.
