Govt launches 'Clean Money' portal to prevent tax evasion

Govt launches 'Clean Money' portal to prevent tax evasion

New Delhi, May 16: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has launched the 'Operation Clean Money' portal that aims "to create a tax-compliant society". The portal will identify those who have made deposits or purchases not in line with the declared income. It will also enable transparent Tax Administration by sharing status reports, including an explanation of verification issues, and thematic analysis reports. " It is time of reckoning for those who evade tax. We want to change habit from non-tax compliant to tax compliant," Finance minister Arun Jaitley said in a press briefing.  In the first batch, around 18 lakh persons have been identified in whose case, cash transactions do not appear to be in line with the tax payer’s profile.

Jaitley went on to say that it was no longer safe to deal with excessive cash, tax evaded(टाल दिया)  money. After the launch of the website, both taxpayers and tax authorities could easily communicate with each other through customers' permanent account number or PAN details.

 

The information in respect of these cases is being made available in the e-filing window of the PAN holder (after log in) at the portal http://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. The PAN holder can view the information using the link “Cash Transactions 2016” under “Compliance” section of the portal. The taxpayer will be able to submit online explanation without any need to visit Income Tax office,” the release read.

Further, email and sms will be sent to the taxpayers for submitting online response on the e-filing portal. With an aim to assist the taxpayer in submitting online response, a detailed user guide and quick reference guide have been made available on the portal.

Jaitley said that through data mining, the government has been able to unearth an additional 91 lakh tax deposits, adding that this was another step in identifying non-compliant tax payers. "Those who pay honestly and on time have no reason to worry," he said.

The second phase of Operation Clean Money will focus on high-risk individuals who made highvalue transactions and will be subject to detailed investigations.

The department has already identified more than 60,000 such persons, based on data analytics.