Sensing that continuously disrupting the house could be counterproductive for it, the Congress on Tuesday had offered to engage in productive discussions on legislative business.
Restoring semblance of normalcy on the last day of the budget session, the Rajya Sabha conducted some brisk business on Wednesday and passed the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill 2015, better known as black money bill that talks about curbing generation of black money overseas. The bill was earlier passed by the Lok Sabha in a single day.
Sensing that continuously disrupting the house could be counterproductive for it, the Congress on Tuesday had offered to engage in productive discussions on legislative business.
Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill 2015 that was accorded the status of the money bill (that does not necessarily needs Rajya Sabha's consent to become a law) got the nod of the House amid reservations expressed by the Congress.
Those who conceal income and assets, and indulge in tax evasion in relation to foreign assets can face rigorous imprisonment of up to 10 years and a hefty penalty on concealed income and assets.
Rejecting opposition's demand to refer it to the Standing Committee to crease out problem areas for better compliance and results, Jaitley said delay would provide opportunity to offenders to transfer unaccounted overseas wealth to unknown destinations.
"For last 11 months, you have been asking what steps are you taking. When I took steps, do walk the talk and support the bill and drop the demand of sending it to Standing Committee," Jaitley said.
Failure to meet the compliance window will attract an additional penalty of 90 percent for a total tax liability of 120 percent on the quantum of black money abroad, Jaitely said.
"If you don't use the compliance window now time will run out, and by 2017 there will be real—time exchange of information...The world is no longer willing to tolerate tax havens working in secrecy," Jaitley said.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has described it as Medhu Vada - a Bill with a big hole in the middle of it.
"There is no mechanism to actually retrieve information on the defaulters, which requires agreements with foreign governments...That big hole is the lack of means of obtaining information about those whom the government actually wants to prosecute. You can announce threats of jail and hefty fines, but you cannot fine or jail 'persons unknown," Tharoor said.
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