I-T unearths `490 cr since Dec 30, total swells to `4,807 cr

THE INCOME Tax Department has detected over Rs 490 crore of undisclosed income since December 30, the last day of the 50-day deposit window after the scrapping of old currency notes.

In a series of actions involving over 1,138 searches, surveys and seizures and 5,184 notices, the Income Tax Department has detected Rs 4,807.45 crore of undisclosed income since the government’s Nobember 8 decision to withdraw high-denomination currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000

The total undisclosed income admitted or detected as part of the action conducted by the I-T department, till December 29, was Rs 4,313.79 crore.

An increasing number of cases are also being referred by the tax department to other law enforcement agencies such as Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe other financial crimes like money laundering, disproportionate assets and corruption. About 20 references have been made to ED during December 30-January 5, taking the total references to ED to 279. About 19 references have been made to the CBI in the last one week, increasing the total references during November 9-January 5 to 247, an official said.

In the period from December 30-January 5, the tax department has seized cash and jewellery worth Rs 54.78 crore, taking the total seizures since the currency withdrawal decision to Rs 609.39 crore.

For November 9-January 5, total jewellery seizure has been worth Rs 97.8 crore. Total cash worth Rs 511.59 crore has been seized by the tax department’s operations, out of which Rs 112.8 crore is in new currency, the official said.

The tax department has carried out a total of 563 surveys, 257 searches and 318 seizures across the country during November 9-January 5 to curb tax evasion and keep a check on hoarding of currency.