The Income Tax Department has launched a new online facility that allows individuals to provide tips on undisclosed foreign assets, Benami properties, or any form of tax evasion by a person or entity. The link “submit tax evasion petition or Benami property holding” was enabled on the Department’s e-filing site, https://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in, on Monday.
The facility shall allow the filing of complaints by persons who are existing PAN (permanent account number) or Aadhar cardholders, as well as by persons who do not have PAN or Aadhaar. Following an OTP-based authentication (mobile and/or e-mail) procedure, the complainant may file complaints about violations of the Income Tax Act, 1961, Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Assets and Income) Imposing the Tax Act, 1961 and the Benami Transactions Prevention Act in three different forms intended for this reason.
Once a complaint is lodged, the department will allocate a specific number to each complaint and the complainant will be able to display the status of the complaint on this weblink. This e-portal is yet another move of the Department to improve the ease of engagement with taxman while improving its contribution to e-governance and promoting and encouraging participation of citizens as stakeholders in curbing tax evasion
The facility also provides an opportunity for someone to be an “informer” and claim a reward. Until now, such confidential or secret information could be submitted to the tax department either by visiting the I-T investigation wing office in person (resident Indians) and by providing the information in a prescribed form and, in the case of foreign residents, they could email such evidence to the Member (Investigation)in the CBDT. A reward of up to Rs 1 crore (Benami wealth case) and up to Rs 5 crore (in the case of any other tax evasion case like holding black assets abroad), subject to certain conditions, shall be provided to the informant by the department as per the scheme currently in operation.
The Department seeks “credible” reports on tax evasion from the public so that it can move against the offender rather than someone who sends “anonymous information sans facts” that leads to a lack of wastage of the taxman’s efforts and undue claims of reward for tipping off the department.