As it analyses bank deposits post demonetisation, the government has found that an estimated Rs 3-4 lakh crore of tax-evaded income could have been deposited during 50-day window provided to get rid of junked Rs 500/1,000 notes.
A senior official said Income Tax Department has been asked to scrutinise details and send notices to depositors of Rs 3-4 lakh crore on which tax could have been evaded.
More than Rs 10,700 crore cash was deposited in different accounts in the North Eastern states since 9 November, he said adding the I-T Department and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are looking into over Rs 16,000 crore deposited in different accounts of cooperative banks.
Also, it has come to light that Rs 25,000 crore cash was deposited in dormant bank accounts while nearly Rs 80,000 crore of repayment of loans was done in cash since 8 November 2016 when the government demonetised old 500 and 1000 rupee notes.
Holders of the old currency were given an option to exchange or deposit them in bank accounts until 30 December.
After in-depth analysis, these reports have been disseminated to the I-T department, the ED and other law enforcement agencies.
Of the 60 lakh bank accounts that saw more than Rs 2 lakh of cash deposits, more than 6.80 lakh accounts have found matches in the existing database of various reports available with government.
"These have been flagged while disseminating to I-T department," he said, adding that the details of cash deposits totalling to more than Rs 10,700 crore in different accounts in the North-Eastern states have also been disseminated.
Also, the I-T department and ED have been provided with the details of cash deposits of more than Rs 16,000 crore in different accounts of various kinds of cooperative banks.
The deposits of more than Rs 13,000 crore in regional rural banks have also been disseminated.
The government has analysed the deposits in Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts in detail and amounts of cash deposited under different threshold in different regions of the country and shared it with I-T department.
It has come to the notice of the government that more than Rs 25,000 crore have been deposited in cash in re-activated dormant bank accounts and the details have also been shared with the I-T department.
Similarly, nearly Rs 80,000 crore of repayment of loans in cash above a certain threshold post demonetisation has also been shared with law enforcement agencies.
The official said without giving details:
The I-T department is also undertaking data analysis and comprehensive matching of the huge intelligence inputs with government databases to have a more effective and focused intrusive and non-intrusive actions in the coming days.
As of now, these deposits haven’t been declared as black money by the depositors seeking amnesty under the RBI’s policy, and has yet to be proven by the authorities that it indeed is black money.
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