Government launches new portal ‘Clean Money’  

Government launches new portal ‘Clean Money’

The Centre has turned its heat on tax evaders with a new portal to investigate them. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday launched a portal to ensure tax compliance. The portal www.cleanmoney.gov.in will ensure a tax-friendly environment, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia told media.

After launching the portal, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said “It is time of reckoning for those who evade tax. We want to change habit from non-tax compliant to tax compliant”

The CBDT has identified undisclosed income worth Rs 16,398 crore under the government’s ‘Operation Clean Money’ programme, CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra said. He said about 91 lakh new tax payers and about 3 lakh new PAN cards have been issued since November 8, 2016 when the Prime Minister announced the move to wipe out old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

Almost 18 lakhs people were identified for unexplained deposits post demonetisation, he said, adding the tax department has identified one lakh suspected tax avoidance cases. Only 9.72 lakh individuals responded to SMSes and e-mails sent by the Income Tax department, Chandra said.

The Income Tax Department has identified close to 1 lakh cases with high evasion risk and 7.4 lakh medium risk people, Chandra said. While the government expects voluntary compliance from medium risk tax evaders, it will resort to enforcement and scrutiny for high risk evaders, he added.