The Income Tax Department, investigating cases of tax evasion during demonetisation, is stepping up probe into gains made in agriculture income by farmers and other assessees.

Under the Income Tax (IT) Act of 1961, agriculture income is exempt from taxes. But during the demonetisation period, Income Tax Department officers suspect that excess non-agriculture income or black money was declared as agriculture income.

A senior IT officer said that under the revised Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) formulated by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), cash receipts shown as agricultural income in the book of accounts are under the scanner. During demonetisation, farmers have declared large cash gains after selling non-perishable crops such as turmeric.

In suspicious cases, the IT officers have been asked to scrutinise farm land records for ownership and seek details on agriculture operations. Sales made by the farmers to marketing societies in large quantum is also being looked into, the official said.

The official pointed out that turmeric, after harvesting from the fields and minimal processing, can be stored for a long time. A farmer can legally make ₹40 lakh as tax-free income per year from a five-acre farm. However, during demonetisation, cash generated from turmeric sale was huge. Suspicious movement of money in the purchase of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides is also being probed.

IT officers have also been asked to look at suspicious transactions of companies and compare cash balance as on April 1, 2016 with cash balance as on November 8, 2016 (the day demonetisation was announced). Where required the licences and permissions for running the companies are also being inspected, the official said.

The official added that advance received in business such as car bookings and gold purchase is also being checked for discrepancies. Whether actual sales were made subsequently or a majority of such advances was returned is also being investigated. #casansaar (Source - The Hindu Business Online)