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I-T notices to VDIS declarants condemned

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Piyush Pandey Ahmedabad
Last Updated : Feb 06 2013 | 8:52 AM IST
Persons making disclosures under the Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS) of 1997, who paid over Rs 10,000 crore to the government, are a worried lot now a days as the income-tax (IT) department has issued notices to many of them for a reassessment of their returns for assessment year 1998-99.
 
In Gujarat alone, the department has served notices to over 3,700 of the 46,700 VDIS declarants.
 
"We have served notices to only those declarants, whom the department believes, have not filed returns for the assessment year 1998-99. This exercise is just to check if the declarant has filed returns for the next assessment year after VDIS of 1997.
 
"We are yet to receive response from these declarants," said U P Singh, chief commissioner of income-tax (I-T), Ahmedabad, told Business Standard.
 
Trade bodies in the state have urged the Union finance minister P Chidambaram to immediately intervene and see that such notices issued to thousands of tax-payers are withdrawn forthwith.
 
"The I-T department has breached the assurance of complete 'immunity' and 'secrecy' announced by the Union government under the VDIS seven years ago. This move has breached the secrecy of the government's promise given in 1997 and is unprecedented," said Chinubhai R Shah, president, Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).
 
According to industry sources, this I-T move has come in the wake of the finance ministry setting up higher collection target for the department.
 
Gujarat regions The total budgeted collection for FY05 stood at Rs 4,951 crore in the Gujarat region, which is over 32 per cent higher than Rs 3,743 crore collected during FY04.
 
"Almost after a decade since financial year 1995-96, the budgeted target for collection was achieved in the last financial year due to big efforts made by the department in Gujarat. We are all geared up for even better collection in the current financial year," said Singh.
 
Gujarat accounts for over 7.5 per cent of the country's total number of returns filed with over four crore permanent account number (PAN) card holders, but in terms of collection, it contributes only 3.5 per cent of the country's total tax collection.
 
Ahmedabad ranks eighth after Mumbai (35 per cent), Delhi (20 per cent), Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune in terms of tax collection.
 
"People will lose faith in assurance given by government as the department has breached the trust of thousands of declarants under the VDIS scheme.
 
"Such schemes in the future will not be successful," said Dipankar Roy, director, Gujarat State Council, western region, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).

 
 

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First Published: May 17 2005 | 12:00 AM IST

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