The Income Tax (I-T) department has issued notices to 800 individuals for allegedly concealing assets and income worth over Rs 3,000 crore. The department has identified cases of gross underreporting of actual income compared to tax returns filed.
Massive Discrepancies Uncovered
Tax authorities have encountered instances where an assessee reported an annual income of Rs 10 lakh in returns, but actual receipts amounted to Rs 100 crore, according to a source. In some cases, assets including bank deposits and even cryptocurrency were omitted from returns. There were also cases where returns claiming nil income were filed, yet earnings of Rs 20-25 crore were discovered based on bank receipts and other assets held.
Transactions Through Banking Channels
The transactions were not conducted in cash; funds remained within the banking system. Even payments for asset purchases were made through banks. However, these deals were simply not reported in returns. This was caught through scrutiny of the Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT) — a cross-verification mechanism used by the department.
Preceding Action Against Entities
This action follows measures taken by taxmen against property registrar offices, banks, and hospitals for non-filing of SFT, which is a list of high-value transactions that must be reported to the department. A thorough examination of the SFTs filed after the income tax action revealed mismatches with the transactions undertaken by individuals.
Key Findings
- Business receipts worth Rs 1,000 crore were not reported at all.
- Cash deposits in banks amounting to Rs 850 crore and withdrawals of Rs 500 crore were unearthed, but the individuals omitted the income earned from these sums from their returns.
- Fixed deposits of Rs 100 crore remained undisclosed.
- Purchase of luxury vehicles worth Rs 15 crore and cryptocurrency valued at Rs 20 crore were not disclosed by the holders.
- The value of undisclosed real estate assets totals Rs 250 crore, a source said.
