Mumbai, Feb 12: The Income Tax department's Criminal Investigation wing has identified 2,000 Indian citizens who hold properties in Dubai but had failed to declare it in their IT returns.
In its ongoing crackdown on black money, the agency has identified Indian citizens who purchased properties in Dubai but failed to declare and explain the source of funds used to purchase these properties.
In the past few years, people have used shell companies to route illegal money and buy overseas properties to evade income tax.
However, the tax department has now increased its efforts to track down those involved in major tax evasion cases.
The 2,000 persons and companies identified mainly include businessmen, top professionals, and government officials.
The IT department will initiate action against the accused under the Black Money Act.
Citizens who own properties outside the country but fail to declare the source of funds or income used for the purchase could be prosecuted under the Black Money Act.
Under Section FA (Foreign Assets) of the Income Tax Act, an individual has to declare purchase and ownership of properties, assets, companies owned outside the country while filing the income tax returns annually.
In the recent drive against black money, the IT department identified 2,000 Indian nationals who failed to provide information on the same while filing IT returns.
Of the 2,000 citizens owning properties in Dubai, around 600 could not furnish details regarding purchase details.
Those who haven't been able to explain the source of funds used for the purchase of properties could be prosecuted and their properties can be attached by the agency.
Other than the attachment of the property, they can face a monetary penalty up to 300 per cent of the property value and also face imprisonment under the Black Money Act.
The properties owned by Indians in Dubai raised red flags as this pattern of parking money is used by money launderers, smugglers, underworld gangsters and drug traffickers for making payments.
It is worth mentioning that of the 2,000 citizens identified, most are residing in Mumbai, followed by Kerala and Gujarat.
The clause under section FA (foreign Assets) came into effect in the year 2011-12 and it is mandatory for people owning properties outside India to declare it in their IT returns.
Those identified by IT department could also face action under FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) by the Enforcement Directorate under Section 4.
Recently the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a crackdown on black money parked overseas by tracking and identifying immovable assets bought overseas by Indian nationals illegally.
The move is being carried out under rules laid down under Section 4 of FEMA (Foregn Exchange Manipulation Act), 1999. Section 4 of FEMA states that no person resident in India shall acquire, hold, own, possess or transfer any foreign exchange, foreign security or any immovable property situated outside India.
On January 17, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at the residence of a former chief engineer of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in connection with an inquiry related to FEMA.
In the raids, the ED officials recovered documents related to the purchase of a property in Dubai in an allegedly illegal manner.
The ex-BMC chief engineer was posted with some of the most crucial wings of the municipal corporation -- the building proposal department and development plan department.
The agency did not disclose the name of the ex-BMC chief engineer but it has been learnt that he had superannuated around seven years ago from the municipal corporation.
ED, in a statement, said incriminating documents with regard to illegal acquisition of a property held in Dubai was recovered during the search operation.
The former BMC chief engineer has stated that he had purchased the property in Dubai at 'Park Island, Bonaire Marsa, Dubai' for Rs 70 lakh in 2012. The property is held jointly in his name, his spouse and son.
The retired BMC officials could not furnish any documents which would help ascertain the value of the property and also could not provide details on how the payments were made to buy the property in Dubai.
The citizens identified by the IT department recently also adopted a similar route to buy property in Delhi. It remains to be seen how the income tax department plans to penalise them.
Comments
Trials of drug dexamethasone in Covid-19 cases have brought success in saving lives , claim Oxford University scientists on 16 June 2020.
According to news reports on 16 June , 2020 , Oxford University Scientists have conducted trials on anti-inflammatory steroid Dexamethasone in Covid-19 cases. Results released by the Oxford University on 16 June 2020 say that the low-cost and easily available drug saves the people seriously infected by Coronavirus , cuts the death risk by a third for those on ventilators and by a fifth for those on oxygen. The commentary on the drug reads like this :-
“ This is a tremendous news today from the recovery trial showing that dexamethasone is the first drug to reduce mortality from Covid-19. It is particularly exciting as this is an inexpensive widely available medicine. This is a ground breaking development in our fight against the disease and the speed at which researchers have progressed finding an effective treatment , is truly remarkable. It shows importance of doing high quality clinical trials and basing decisions as the results of those trials”.
Covid-19 has taken into its grip the entire world during first half of the year 2020 , infecting lacs and killing also lacs of its patients. In the absence of an effective drug or vaccine , people had no choice other than to look up to the heavens or scientists to come with some cure. And the drug described here is the first one to respond to the prayer of the global community , it seems. As regards a vaccine , only few are claiming that it can come by the end of the present year 2020. Rather , some are of the view that it may take a larger part of the year 2021 and could even go to mid-2022. Whatever that scenario about prospect of arrival of vaccine to treat Covid-19 may be , the news that was broken on 16 June 2020 by the Oxford University scientists in relation to drug dexamethasone would have sent a wave of strength and hope among people world-wide. And this Vedic astrology writer was spirited for another reason as well - a prediction of when some relief by way of drug to fight Covid-19 may appear , having come accurate in the claim announced by Oxford University on 16 June 2020. This writer had , based on interpretation and application of Vedic astrology , contributed in early April , 2020 an opinion piece - “ Some searchlight on way out of Covid-19 presently tormenting mankind” - to a number of newspapers. It was also contributed on 11 April , 2020 using the ‘ comments’ column of article -‘ Heard Charles took Ayurveda treatment-based Ayush drugs for Covid-19’ - at theprint.in/india/looking-at-evidence-based-ayush-medicines-to-treat-covid-19-minister-shripad-naik/393407/. The text in the opinion piece related to the claim of success announced by Oxford University scientists on 16 June , 2020 , reads like this :-
“ So reading in between the lines , it can be said that some effective drug or remedy can arrive by mid or towards the last week of June 2020 to provide some relief during July to September 2020 , to some good extent”.
The point this writer wants to share with readers world-wide is that yes , a drug envisaged in the aforesaid prediction has appeared on the horizon in the claim announcement of Oxord University scientists on 16 June , 2020.
Bio :-
Kushal kumar ,
202-GH28 , Mansarovar Apartments ,
Sector 20 , Panchkula-134116 , Haryana,
India.
Note :- This writer’s significant predictive work covering 2020 about the U.S. and Italy
Add new comment