Cabinet allows amendment proposal to check illegal transactions

The Dollar Business Bureau In a move to curb illegal transactions and generation of black money domestically, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its approval to amend the law to regulate benami transactions in India. The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval to amend the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, by moving the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill, 2015 in Parliament, said an official release. The Bill has provisions for attachment and confiscation of benami properties and also fine with imprisonment for offenders, the release said. The move came after the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (UFI&A) (Imposition of Tax) Bill, 2015, meant to track the black money stashed overseas, was passed by the lower house of the Parliament. Before the release of the UFI & A Bill 2015 on Tuesday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said, “A benami bill will soon be brought before the Cabinet to deal with the black money domestically.” The finance minister also informed that the government has decided to make modifications in the new Income Tax Return (ITR) forms following various concerns over the issue. The finance minister was quoted to have said that the government has decided to modify the I-T return forms, taking into account various concerns raised over the issue. As per new norms on ITR notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), an assessee needs to furnish bank details, accounts opened or closed in the year along with the closing balance and sources of funds incurred for expenses in an overseas travel. And, the information related to foreign travel which was sought to be captured in the new form-ITR2 is as per the recommendation of the Special Investment Team (SIT) on Black Money constituted following the direction of the Supreme Court, the minister said. The I-T return form seeking foreign travel details was given away so that risk profiling for detection of tax evasions could be done. However, it is being modified in view of the opposition it received, said the minister, adding, “the new ITR forms were put on hold shortly after the notification as they were criticized for seeking so many private details.” The process of filing taxes electronically has been simplified over the years. A free ITR preparation software has also been facilitated with pre-filled tax payment and tax deduction columns in the form to avoid data entry errors, added the minister.    

May 13, 2015 | 7:56 pm IST.