Kaun Banega Crorepati, new BJP fix
Undeterred by an earlier promise to put Rs 15 lakh in each citizen's bank account by unearthing black money – a ‘jumla’ that became a butt of all jokes -- the Modi government on Friday unveiled three schemes for the public to disclose details of those with black money or indulging in tax evasion and get rewards.
One scheme rewards up to Rs 50 lakh, another Rs 1 crore and it goes up to Rs 5 crore if the black money is stashed abroad in assets or otherwise.
Even a foreigner can be an informer and claim the reward with a promise that his identity will be strictly confidential.
In case of benami properties, the reward will be calculated at 5% of the fair market value of the movable property and circle rate of immovable property, subject to the ceiling of Rs one crore. There is also a provision of interim reward up to 1%, subject to ceiling of Rs 10 lakh.
The ‘Income Tax Informants Reward Scheme, 2018," unveiled by the IT Department, superseding an earlier reward scheme of 2007, promises a reward up to Rs 50 lakh for giving specific information in a prescribed manner to the designated officers about substantial evasion of tax on income or assets.
The second is the ‘Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018,’ for rewards up to Rs. one crore for giving specific information in a prescribed manner to the Joint or Additional Commissioners about benami transactions and properties.
The announcement points out that a lot of black money is invested in properties in the names of others to conceal the ownership in tax returns. The Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, was amended through an Act in 2016 to make the law stronger.
The government hopes to encourage people to give information about benami transactions and properties as well as income earned on such properties by such hidden investors and beneficial owners.
The third scheme relates to information about assets and income kept in foreign countries by people taxable in India. The reward promised is up to Rs 5 crore.
‘‘The amount has been kept high to make it attractive to potential sources in foreign countries," an official said.
Information can be passed on to the Director General of Income Tax (Investigation) or an officer authorised by him.
Details of all the three reward schemes are available on the official website incometaxindia.gov.in, but could not be accessed by this correspondent. After repeatedly clicking the links for the three schemes, all one got were blank pages. Maybe, the links will become accessible by the time some informants come forward.