Mumbai family declares Rs 2L cr under IDS, I-T rejects disclosure

A Mumbai-based family has declared Rs 2 lakh crore under the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS). However, the Income Tax department rejected the disclosure stating it to be “false”. “A family of four declarants namely, Abdul Razzaque Mohammed Sayed (self), Mohammed Aarif Abdul Razzaque Sayed (son), Rukhsana Abdul Razzaque Sayed (wife) and Noorjahan Mohammed Sayed (sister), who were shown as residents of Flat no. 4, Ground Floor, Jubilee Court, 269-B, T.P.S-III, Linking Road, Bandra (W), Mumbai, filed a total declaration of Rs 2 lakh crore,” the finance ministry said.

The department on Sunday also rejected the claim of Mahesh Kumar Champaklal Shah, a businessman from Gujarat, who declared Rs 13,860 crore. Shah, a resident of Ahmedabad, had created a stir on Saturday when he claimed on a private TV channel that the money he had declared under IDS was on behalf of certain influential people, including politicians and bureaucrats. He had said that it was done in return for a commission.

Shah also said that he would contact the income tax authorities and give the names of those who asked him to declare their unaccounted incomes as his. Income tax sleuths had taken Shah away for interrogation soon after he made the claim. Shah was, however, released after questioning on Sunday morning. The finance ministry said, the declarations from Mumbai and Ahmedabad were kept pending for investigation and were not included in the total value of declarations announced on October 1. The income disclosure scheme closed on September 30.

The ministry said, after due enquiry, it was found that these declarants were persons of “suspicious nature and very small means” and the declarations could have been misused. The Centre also revised upward the undisclosed income under the IDS to Rs 67,382 crore.

“On October 1, it was announced that declarations totalling Rs 65,250 crore were received from 64,275 declarants, subject to reconciliation. After final reconciliation the revised figure of actual declarations received and taken on record was Rs 67,382 crore which had been made by 71,726 declarants,” the ministry said.