Huge deposits: I-T notices to 1,300 individuals, firms

Come clean or face action, dept tells people with unaccounted wealth

The Income Tax Department has issued show-cause notices to 1,300 individuals and firms in the state who have deposited Rs 1 crore and above in cash in banks using the scrapped notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination after November 8.

Addressing a press conference here, Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Karnataka and Goa) Nutan Wodeyar and top officials of the department said the notices have been issued under Section 133 (6) of the Income Tax Act (seeking source of funds).

She said the department has started to receive responses to the notices and 20 of them have come forward to apply under the government’s new income disclosure scheme -  the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY).

Wodeyar said the PMGKY is the last chance to people with unaccounted wealth to come clean or face stringent penalties. The scheme will be open till March 31, 2017, she said.

N Balakrishnan, Director General (Investigation), Income Tax (Karnataka-Goa), said the department is keeping a close vigil on high-value deposits and transactions after demonetisation. Information is being collected from banks, cooperative societies, from civic utilities (wherein consumers had used  scrapped Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination notes to pay huge arrears), deposits made in post offices among others.

He said the department is also keeping a watch on creation of fictitious accounts and deposits made in another person’s account among others.

Wodeyar said the department will also increase the number of raids and surveys in the days to come. “With the information we have collected, we will not come back empty handed after the raids,” she said.

Under the PMGKY, those who declare cash deposit will be levied a charge of 50%, which breaks down into 30% tax, 33% surcharge and 10% penalty. In addition, 25% of the amount declared will go into the non-interest Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme 2016 for four years, she said.

A team of Income Tax officials searched the District Central Cooperative Bank in
Tumakuru.