I-T department to miss black money probe deadline

The income-tax department is likely to miss the March 31 deadline to complete the assessment of 427 actionable cases in HSBC black money list as instructed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

While there are hardly 10 days left for the deadline to expire, assessment has been completed in only 200 cases and prosecution has been launched in only 80 cases.

"There is absolutely no pressure to finalise the cases. We are pursuing the assessment, at our own pace. Surely, it can spill over to next financial year," a senior I-T official told dna.

This is despite the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent reassurance that the government is committed to bring back the black money.

On Tuesday, finance minister Arun Jaitley said in Parliament, "There are various assessments that are made but in the absence of any particular authenticity with regard to those assessments, I am not going to commit myself to a speculative figure."

In some cases, recoveries have been made. Additionally, in about 77 of those cases, criminal prosecutions have already been filed in court. "Nobody, who is a part of the HSBC list against whom the evidence is now forthcoming, is going to be spared in this exercise," said Jaitley.

Even the SIT in its last report submitted to the apex court in December had stated that these cases would be brought to their logical and legal conclusion by the said deadline.

So far, penalty proceedings under Section 276 C(1) of I-T Act (willful attempt to evade tax, penalty or interest chargeable) and Section 276D (failure to produce accounts and documents) have been launched in 80 cases. With regard to the other assessees, proceedings are still pending.

The government had said in December that of the list of 628 Indians who could be hoarding black money overseas, 201 are either non-traceable or non-residents, while 289 have no balance left in their accounts.

There are 427 actionable cases that collectively hold a sum of Rs 4,479 crore in bank accounts overseas, according to the official release, calculated at the dollar-rupee exchange of Rs 45 per dollar. Till now, the department has collected taxes or revenues worth 3,150 crore.

According to I-T sources, the account entries being old, reflects small amounts, ranging between Rs 5 crore and Rs 10 crore, lots of account holders have emptied their accounts before a probable action.

However, the government is hoping to collect revenue of Rs 10,000 crore as taxes and penalties after completing final assessments and prosecutions of all actionable cases.