The CBDT is looking into about nine lakh pieces of information of high-value transactions and planning to send preliminary notices to the suspected cases. Out of the total nine lakh pieces, one lakh cases valued over Rs 1 crore are under the department’s scanner, CBDT chairman Atulesh Jindal said.

“Our data system has collected around 9,00,000 independent pieces of information, out of which 1,00,000 have been identified as suspected high-value ones,” Jindal said. Jindal also appealed to taxpayers to come clean under the ongoing Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) that ends on September 30.

“We will certainly like to give them opportunity to come clean. People should avail this window. We want to say that we have this database and we will make them aware about this. The option is with them (to use the IDS or not),” Jindal said.

He termed the IDS as a one-time opportunity given to black money holders to come clean. 

“The finance minister has clarified in all the meetings that this (IDS) is not an immunity scheme and any comparison with past disclosure schemes should not be done. We have tried to give an opportunity to those taxpayers to come clean, who, because of some reasons could not report their correct income in the past… just an opportunity has been given, just a window has been given,” he said.

He added that the tax department is “very very serious” about combating tax evasion.

“We have an extensive database of information collected from various sources which we are utilising and we will utilise more effectively during the days to come,” he said.

In the Union Budget for 2016-17, the government had announced the Income Declaration Scheme. The government brought out the declaration scheme, calling upon people with undisclosed income to declare their assets between June 1 and September 30, and legitimise it by paying tax, penalty, and surcharge totalling 45 per cent of the income.

The finance ministry earlier this month extended the deadline for payment of tax, surcharge and penalty under the scheme. Declarants will now have to pay at least 25 per cent of the tax, surcharge and penalty by November 30, 2016.

Additional 25 per cent needs to be paid by March 31, 2017, and the remaining 50 per cent has to be paid by September 30, 2017. Earlier, the declarants had to make the entire payment towards taxes, surcharge and penalty by November 30, 2016. #casansaar (PTI - Indian Express)