PM cracks whip on benami properties
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked taxmen to take necessary steps against all those who are in possession of benami properties and focus on broadening the tax net.
In a review meeting with officials of the tax department on Tuesday, the PM, sources said, also underlined the need to reduce the human interface and adopt measures that do not lead to harassment.
“It was a good meeting and presentations were made on the actions taken after demonetisation to address the issue of black money..the meeting was to take stock of the situation and review the overall functioning of the department,” said a senior government official .
The I-T department, which already has exhaustive information on deposits made by the citizens between November 9 and December 30, 2016, will also check the amount of money deposited by their spouses and other members of the family.
Modi also took stock the preparedness for the implementation of the nationwide goods and services tax.
The government, which launched the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana—the second and a more stringent income disclosure scheme— got a tepid response with only about 24,000 declarations coming in this time. “There has also been some cause for concern due to this and it was also reviewed,” the official said.
Last month, the I-T department unveiled a one-page tax return form which includes a separate section for cash deposits of ₹2 lakh and more between November 9 and December 30.