Income Tax dept to exhibit anti-black money drive in maiden Republic Day tableau

For the first time, an Income Tax Department tableau will roll down the Rajpath during the Republic Day parade, showcasing its special anti-black money drive that was launched post demonetization.

The tableau will depict the Operation Clean Money (OCM), its salient features and people's contribution towards the drive which was launched by the I-T department on January 31 last year. Its two editions have been rolled out by the policy- making body of the I-T Department, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), till now. "The tableau will showcase the OCM which is an initiative of the taxman against black money," a senior official said.
"As the drive against black funds is a major flagship of the government, the tableau will speak about clean money and how it can be used to create a strong country," the official added.

He said this will be the first time that the department's float will be a part of the Republic Day parade on the Rajpath, which witnesses representations from the armed forces besides various states and ministries. Last year, the tableau of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) -- which was touted as India's biggest tax reform since Independence -- was part of the January 26 parade. The float, the official said, will depict how clean money is required for the nation's development and how it is important for the citizens to join hands in this ambitious drive.

The words 'OCM- Festival of Honesty' will be displayed prominently on the float, the official said. The OCM was launched by the government and the CBDT in order to check black money generation and tax evasion in the wake of the November 8, 2016 demonetisation of two big currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000. The CBDT has said that demonetisation and the subsequent OCM led to an overall increase of 20 per cent with respect to the people who file their I-T returns.

The I-T department had conducted 900 searches between November 9, 2016, and March last year, leading to seizure of assets worth Rs 900 crore including Rs 636 crore in cash. The searches had led to the disclosure of Rs 7,961 crore undisclosed income, according to official data. During the same period, the department conducted 8,239 survey operations leading to detection of Rs 6,745 crore of black money, it had said.