CBDT announces Operation Clean Money; Preliminary answers on deposits to be sought online

New Delhi: Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia today in a briefing here announced Operation Clean Money under which deposits during demonetization grace period will be verified. More than 1 crore accounts are found to have deposited Rs 2 lakh or more cash post demonetization.Unique pan connected to these accounts are around 70 lakh. During the data anayltics process,the vast data of income profile, turnover and various other particulars of income are compared. In the first phase where deposits are not matching with data, CBDT seeks explanation on source of income on e-filing portal. In the initial phase CBDT is putting data of those who have deposited Rs 5 lakh or more or deposited 3 to 5 lakh in suspicious nature and who had poor test compliance after November 8. Depositor will need to come clean and pay tax. The special scheme is available only till 31st March. Initially 18 lakh depositors are going to get online inquiry. No source of deposit has been asked who have genuine tax compliance saving. Depositors need to duly link their bank account with pan of they may not be able to withdraw money. Time given for online response is 10 days. If reply is not given. only then notice will be given. If e-reply is satisfactory, particular case will be closed and there will be no need to visit IT office. In case of harassment, local commissioner or CBDT need to be contacted. This is continuous exercise to widen and deepen the tax base. All accounts will be tracked. Emails and SMS are to be sent to depositors whose data don’t match with tax payer profile tomorrow morning. Tax payer will need to login to e-filing portal. Few Tax payer who have not registered will need to register on e-filing portal. Existing portal users will also need to verify on portal.

Official note:

Income Tax Department (ITD) launches Operation Clean Money

Income Tax Department (ITD) has initiated Operation Clean Money, today. Initial phase of the operation involves e-verification of large cash deposits made during 9th November to 30th December 2016. Data analytics has been used for comparing the demonetisation data with information in ITD databases. 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.

ITD has enabled online verification of these transactions to reduce compliance cost for the taxpayers while optimising its resources. 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 https://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.

Email and SMS will also be sent to the taxpayers for submitting online response on the e-filing portal. Taxpayers who are not yet registered on the e-filing portal (at https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in) should register by clicking on the ‘Register Yourself’ link. Registered taxpayers should verify and update their email address and mobile number on the e-filing portal to receive electronic communication.

A detailed user guide and quick reference guide is available on the portal to assist the taxpayer in submitting online response. In case of any difficulty in submitting on line response, help desk at 1800 4250 0025 may be contacted.

Data analytics will be used to select cases for verification, based on approved risk criteria.  If the case is selected for verification, request for additional information and its response will also be communicated electronically. The information on the online portal will be dynamic getting updated on receipt of new information, response and data analytics.

The response of taxpayer will be assessed against available information. In case explanation of source of cash is found justified, the verification will be closed without any need to visit Income Tax Office. The verification will also be closed if the cash deposit is declared under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY).

The taxpayers covered in this phase should submit their response on the portal within 10 days in order to avoid any notice from the ITD and enforcement actions under the Income-tax Act as also other applicable laws.PIB