Brace for a call from I-T if you deposited over Rs 10 lakh after 8 Nov

The taxmen want to find out the source of the money

If you have deposited more than Rs 10 lakh in your bank account ever since November 8 , 2016, when the Modi government demonetised old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, brace yourself for a call from the taxman.

According to a report in the Economic Times,  India's apex tax authority, Central Board of Direct Taxes, has set up an e-platform to reach out to those who have crossed this threshold and find out the source of the money. 

The depositors are expected to file their response online. 

CBDT members briefed senior officers of the income tax department on Wednesday about suspicious cash deposits, mobilisation target from the new declaration scheme, and the manner in which to go about taxing undeclared income that has found its way into banks.  

"If the assessing officer requires more information, the assesse would be asked to submit them. The additional information will also be uploaded online. This is with the objective to bring about transparency,”  a city-based tax officer told Economic Times. 

The tax department has reportedly detected deposits of Rs 3-4 lakh crore of unaccounted income in over 60 lakh bank accounts during the 50-day window following the government’s decision to scrap high-denomination Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.

According to a Times of India report, the income tax department has already served around 5,000 notices to those who have deposited unusually large amounts of cash in banks.

The tax department has also found that Rs 25,000 crore cash was deposited in dormant bank accounts while nearly Rs 80,000 crore of loan-repayment was done in cash after the demonetisation decision of the government.

Cash deposits of over Rs 10,700 crore were made in different accounts in the northeastern states since November 10, a tax official was quoted as saying by PTI.  The Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate are also looking into deposits of over Rs 16,000 crore in different accounts of cooperative banks.

"The 1,100 cases of search and seizure carried out by the tax department in the past two months have yielded around Rs 600 crore – of which Rs 150 crore is in new notes. About 1.5 lakh accountholders have deposited more than Rs 10 lakh each and there have been suspicious cash deposits in one crore accounts, belonging to 75 lakh people. Tax authorities believe that around Rs 1 lakh crore may be disclosed under the new income declaration scheme, which would result in tax collection of Rs 50,000 crore,"the ET report said.