No proposal to launch gold amnesty scheme: Govt sources

There is no proposal of gold amnesty scheme before the government, official sources confirmed on Thursday.

“There is no talk of it till now. The government may ban gold trading above a certain amount without proper documentation after the amnesty period gets over,” an official from North Block told DH, requesting anonymity.

The government will follow it up by making PAN/Aadhaar mandatory for all gold transactions, the source added.

The Centre had not heeded to the Income Tax Department’s suggestion for gold amnesty scheme in 2015 fearing a political backlash.

The sources in the know told DH that the tax department had suggested this measure to the government, at the same time as the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS). The scheme was an amnesty scheme introduced by Narendra Modi-led government as a part of the 2016 Union budget to unearth black money and bring it back into the system. The scheme, which lasted from June 1 to September 30 that year, was followed by the abrupt note-ban that caused a dent to the economy.

“We have recommended during IDS that something like this should be there. It helps us. But it’s a political risk. That time the government didn’t agree,” a source in the know said.

The income tax department is of the opinion that since Indians have huge assets in gold, a scheme like this will mean a huge jump in tax filers.

The department also fears that the scheme may not yield the results.