New Delhi: Around Rs. 3770 crore has surfaced as untaxed or black money in a three-month window that ended, said the government on Wednesday.
In a statement, the government said that it has received 638 declarations of money stashed in foreign accounts. “The officer designated to receive the declarations worked till midnight yesterday,” the statement said.
Those who have come clean can escape prosecution or jail by paying tax and penalties of around 60 per cent. After the deadline, the tax and penalty doubles to 120 per cent and the tax evader can face up to 10 years in jail.
The government had hoped that enabling tax evaders to declare their illegal wealth and pay a softer penalty would help recover crores in black money – a major promise of PM Modi’s election campaign last year.
Modi had said that Rs. 15 lakh could be given to every citizen if illegal wealth was brought back from foreign accounts, a claim that has been repeatedly panned by the Congress, which lost power last year.
While there is no official estimate of the amount of money illegally deposited abroad, Washington-based think-tank Global Financial Integrity has estimated that the outflows were around $ 344 billion or Rs. 22.5 lakh crore between 2002 and 2011.
India has worked with countries including Switzerland to obtain information about unaccounted money.
A list of 628 who allegedly held bank accounts at HSBC’s Geneva branch was submitted in 2010 by France to India. The government has so far initiated action in 121 cases.
The 90-day compliance window is a part of a new Black Money law that also sets up a team of regulators and ex-judges to identify those who have secret accounts abroad.
