Around Rs. 3770 crore in untaxed or black money has emerged in a three-month window for defaulters to come clean, which ended yesterday, the government today said.
“Now we will start taking action against those who have not declared their assets,” said Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia. According to officials, 638 people have declared money parked illegally in foreign accounts; they can escape prosecution or jail by paying tax and penalties of around 60 per cent by December 31.
After yesterday’s deadline, the tax and penalty doubles to 120 per cent and the defaulter can face up to 10 years in jail.
The government had hoped that offering softer penalty would help recover crores in black money – a major promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election campaign last year. Mr 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.