Undeclared income of worth Rs 1.16 lakh crore unearthed in 3 years, claims Jayant Sinha

As the government continues its pursuit of black money held by Indians, the I-T Department has detected undisclosed income totalling over Rs 1.16 lakh crore in the last three financial years, of which real estate accounted for a substantial part.

Various persons have admitted to undisclosed income that totals to Rs 36,153.88 crore during searches conducted by the Income Tax Department during this period. The I-T Department also seized assets worth about Rs 2,200 crore.

This disclosure made in a written reply by Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha in Rajya Sabha comes at a time when concerns are being raised by various quarters over a larger amount of black money held within India rather than in foreign tax havens.

There have also been reports that the real estate sector accounts for a major chunk of black money. In 2013-14 alone, the I-T Department detected undeclared income of Rs 90,390.71 crore in its surveys.

"Enquiries conducted by the Income Tax Department during last three years have led to a detection of substantial amount of undisclosed income in the cases of persons engaged in the real estate sector," Sinha said.

About 5,327 surveys conducted in 2013-14 revealed undisclosed amount of Rs 90,390.71 crore, while 4,630 surveys carried out in 2012-13 found Rs 19,337.46 crore. In 2011-12, around 3,706 surveys conducted revealed undisclosed amount of Rs 6,572.75 crore.

Undisclosed income admitted to stood at Rs 10,791.63 crore in 2013-14 during searches. It was Rs 10,291.61 crore in 2012-13 and Rs 15,070.64 crore in 2011-12. The total value of assets seized during these periods was Rs 807.84 crore, Rs 575.08 crore and Rs 905.60 crore respectively.