(a) whether black money is being used on a large scaie in transactions related to land and buildings as a result of which prices of land, buildings and houses are sky- rocketing in and around Delhi;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto;
(c) the drive launched to defeat the use of black money in such transactions during the last three years; and
(d) the number of cases detected under the said drives during the said period?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI S.S.PALANIMANICKAM)
(a): There is no verifiable information available to suggest that use of unaccounted money
in transactions related to land and building in Delhi and NCR region has resulted in rise in
prices of land, buildings and houses in and around Delhi.
(b): Does not arise in view of reply to (a) above.
(c) & (d): The Income Tax Department takes several punitive and deterrent steps to detect
black money. These include scrutiny of returns, surveys, search and seizure action, imposition
of penalty and launching of prosecution in appropriate cases. Among other efforts to unearth
black money, Tax Information Network (TIN) has been set up as depository of important tax
related information which can be accessed by the Department. The Income Tax Department is
receiving information in respect of specified category of High Value Transaction through Annual
Information Returns (AIRs) and Central Information Branches (CIB). The information collected
from various sources are also collated electronically to create a 360 degree profile of the
High Net Worth assessees. Under the provisions of section 206A of the Income Tax Act certain
entities responsible for paying to resident any income by way of interest (other than` interest
on securities) without deduction of tax at source are required to furnish quarterly returns.
Information as regards suspicious transactions and large cash transactions, as disseminated by
the Financial Intelligence Unit of India (FIU-IND), is also investigated by the Income Tax
Department. Appropriate action under the provisions of Direct Tax Laws is taken to bring to tax
the amount of undisclosed income detected by the Department.