Taxman Sends 18 Lakh Notices For Suspicious Deposits Post Demonetisation

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Tuesday said that it has identified 18 lakh people whose account data do not match with their taxpayer profile. Accordingly, the tax department has send 18 lakh notices for large, ‘suspicious’ deposits of more than Rs 5 lakh, Chairman Sushil Chandra told reporters at a media briefing.

These deposits were made between November 9 and December 31, after the government’s demonetisation exercise.

The department has also identified 1 crore accounts in which deposits of more than Rs 2 lakh were made.

The CBDT also launched an e-platform for online verification of deposits made post demonetisation, called Operation Clean Money. In the initial phase, this new software will be used for e-verification of large cash deposits made post demonetisation Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said at the same media briefing.

The 18 lakh accounts was a part of the first batch identified by the tax department through the use of data analytics.

Going forward, data analytics will be used in select cases for verification based on an approved risk criteria. If a particular case is selected for verification, the department will send an email and text message to the concerned account holder, and the information will have to be provided by submitting an online response on the portal, according to a media statement issued by the CBDT. The response will have to be submitted on the portal within 10 days.

The response will be assessed, and if found appropriate, the verification will be closed. The verification will also be closed if the cash deposit is declared under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, the statement added.