Tip of the iceberg? I-T department unearths over Rs 13,000 crore black money just from two sets of info

The Indian Income Tax (I-T) authorities unearthed over Rs 13,000 crore black money from information received in 2011 and 2013.

In 2011, India received inputs on at least 400 Indians with deposits in HSBC, Geneva and the I-T officials unearthed illicit income of Rs 8,186 crore, the highest disclosure ever. The department raised a tax demand of about Rs 5,377 crore against such account-holders till March 31, 2016.

Out of 628 HSBC accounts, around 213 were found "not actionable" as they either had no money in them or they belonged to non-resident Indians.

“Out of the actionable cases, assessments have been completed in 398 cases, including those settled by the I-T Settlement Commission as well as cases where assessment proceedings have been dropped," according to the I-T report.

In 2013, the I-T officials unearthed Rs 5000 crore black money stashed in foreign accounts, after International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a Washington-based organisation, disclosed it.

So far, the I-T department has filed 55 prosecution complaints before criminal courts in the ICIJ cases on charges of wilful attempt to evade tax.

In the HSBC Geneva case, tax authorities have launched prosecution proceedings in 75 cases.

The defaulters will be penalised under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which gives the ED powers to attach and confiscate properties of an accused equivalent to the amount stashed abroad.

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