Govt's overdrive to check black money yielding results

New Delhi (PTI) Amid the threat of Yoga Guru Baba
Ramdev to go on hunger strike on the issue of black money from
June 4, the government on Wednesday said the series of steps
taken by it to unearth unaccounted wealth have started
yielding results.
The income tax department, sources said, has detected
unaccounted income of Rs 18,750 crore in the last two
financial years and collected an additional Rs 22,697 crore as
taxes by stepping up vigil on cross border transactions.
Besides, they added, the government detected mis-pricing
of goods to the tune of Rs 33,784 crore in the last two years.
Called as transfer pricing in tax parlance, the
mis-pricing has emerged as the main method of transferring
illicit funds outside the country.
The success achieved in checking the menace of black
money, sources said, can be attributed to the focused strategy
adopted by the Finance Ministry.
The focus of the strategy includes stopping the
transfer of funds to other countries; better realisation of
taxes through special attention to cross broader transactions;
unearthing the black money in the country and enhanced flow of
information from foreign jurisdictions.
The income tax department, sources further said, has
collected 7,704 pieces of information related to tax evasion
and money laundering from different countries and is going
ahead with investigations.
Meanwhile, senior ministers are trying to persuade Yoga
Guru Ramdev not to go on hunger strike as the government
is already taking steps to curb the menace of black money.
Referring to information received in respect of LGT Bank
of Liechtenstien from Germany, sources said, the government
has already launched prosecution proceedings against several
individuals and raised a tax demand of Rs 75.86 crore.
Besides, the government has made 175 requests to seek
specific information about tax payers from the countries with
whom India had signed tax treaties.
Pointing out that generation and detection of black money
is a on-going process, sources said, the government has
adopted a five-pronged strategy to deal with the issue.
The elements of the strategy include joining global
crusade against black money, creating an appropriate
legislative framework, setting up of institutions to deal with
illicit funds, developing systems and imparting skills to
officers for effective action.
As part of the drive, the government had also constituted
a committee under Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
chairman to examine legal and administrative framework
and suggest steps to strengthen laws to curb generation of
black money.
It has also set up Directorate of Criminal Investigation
(DCI) to deal with tax crimes related to illegal activities.
The other important initiatives include commissioning
of a study by economic think-tanks to estimate the quantum of
black money held within and outside the country. The estimates
of such funds range from USD 500 billion to USD 1,400 billion.
The study, to be undertaken jointly by NCAER, NIPFP
and NIFM, will also suggest steps to bring back unaccounted
money kept outside the country.