60,000 I-T notices for non-PAN transactions

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 23

The Income Tax Department (North-West region) comprising the states of Haryana, UT of Chandigarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, has issued 60,000 notices for large non-PAN transactions. This comes at a time when the government is going hard after those who are avoiding paying taxes.

Tax officials say some of the scrutinised transactions include individual and business transactions where black money or unaccounted money may have changed hands.

The Revenue Department has already identified big transactions where tax may not have been paid. “We have served notices to 60,000 individuals on the basis of information collected by our system which falls under risk category,” said Rajendra Kumar, Principal Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, North-West Region. The region has 36 lakh income tax assessees.

The transactions under lens include cash deposits of Rs 10 lakh or more in a savings bank account, sale or purchase of immovable property valued at Rs 30 lakh or more. In May, the government had started data analytics tool which raises red flags from the total income tax data.

With just seven days to go before the closure of the compliance window under the Income Tax Declaration Scheme 2016, the tax department has reiterated that information contained in a valid declaration will be confidential and shall not be shared.

The scheme is open for declarations up to September 30. Those declaring unaccounted wealth will have to pay 45% tax plus penalty.