Identity of people who declared black money to remain confidential: I-T dept

The income tax department on Monday said “strict confidentiality” will be maintained about the identity of persons who have disclosed black money during the four-month window under the income declaration scheme.

The income tax department on Monday said “strict confidentiality” will be maintained about the identity of persons who have disclosed black money during the four-month window under the income declaration scheme.

A sum of Rs 65,250 crore in black money was declared through the one-time declaration window that closed last week. (HT File Photo)

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), in a statement, also said no official list of region-wise declarations has been issued.

A huge sum of Rs 65,250 crore in black money was declared through the one-time declaration window that closed last week, marking the biggest-ever disclosure of hidden wealth that will rake in Rs 29,362 crore in taxes to the exchequer.

“CBDT clarifies that no official list of region wise declarations has been issued. The Income Tax Department is committed to maintaining strict confidentiality of declarations made under the Income Declaration Scheme 2016,” the statement said.

It also cautioned that the public should not to pay any heed to “fraudulent messages” related to the scheme circulating on social media.

While announcing the details of IDS on Saturday, finance minister Arun Jaitley too had stressed that no break-up of the declarations on the basis of trades/cities/states would be released in order to ensure absolute secrecy with respect to the identity of the declarants.

Last year, under a similar scheme for foreign black money holders, 644 declarations of undisclosed foreign income and assets were received, and just Rs 2,428 crore was collected in taxes.

Read | Black money worth Rs 65,250 cr declared in tax disclosure scheme: Jaitley