With India's black money act in force and the compliance window being closed on 30th September, the government has revised the total assets which has come up for declaration at £414.7 million. Those who have not yet disclosed their assets abroad were warned of strict action. Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said, “Whatever has come, we accept it and now onwards we would start the action against those people who have not declared any asset and about whom the information would come to us.” “In order to give them an opportunity, this compliance window was there up to September 30 and the figures we have got so far are that 638 people have announced their foreign investment or foreign assets, including bank account balances and the total amount coming to £414.7 million,” he added.
The law provides a compliance window to declare and pay penalty. Failure to meet the timeline will attract an additional penalty of 90 per cent for a total tax liability of 120 per cent on the quantum of black money stashed abroad. September 30 was the last date under the amnesty scheme, that called for a tax of 30 per cent and an equal amount in penalty that is to be paid before December 31.
Official statement read the actual quantum of declaration, under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, was subject to a final reconciliation. It said “the officer designated to receive the declarations worked till midnight on September 30, 2015,” on a day when the rush of black money declarants peaked at the Income Tax office. The black money act, for the first time, allows levy of tax in India on assets kept abroad and the Income Tax department has filed 121 cases of prosecution against those entities whose names have appeared in the HSBC Geneva bank list.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said those who have come clean under the scheme do not need to worry, but those with unaccounted wealth abroad will face strict action. “Those who have availed of this opportunity can sleep well... If there is any big or small fish that has not done it, (they) will face the consequences,” the finance minister said. Economic Affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das too indicated the government would crack down on those with undisclosed income abroad. “Those who did not declare have underestimated the power of information exchange. The new law provides for 120% penalty and up to 10 years in jail.”
