Black money compliance window is neither VDIS nor amnesty: Arun Jaitley

New Delhi: The four-month compliance window for domestic black money holders is not an amnesty scheme, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Monday.

"There is monumental income tax law changes which I have made... Its not a VDIS (Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme) and it is not an amnesty," Jaitley said in an interview to state-broadcaster Doordarshan News.

Presenting the Budget 2016-17 in Parliament, the Finance Minister said he wanted to give an opportunity to earlier non-compliant to move to the category of compliant as he proposed a limited period compliance window for domestic tax payers to declare undisclosed income represented in any form of assets.

One can clear up past transgression by paying tax at 30 percent, a surcharge at 7.5 percent, a penalty at 7.5 percent which is total of 45 percent of undisclosed income.

Elaborating on the proposal, Jaitley said: "Inequality arises in amnesty, where under certain exemptions, you as a honest tax payer has paid 30 percent and I come and join after 20 years and say that I would also pay 30 percent".

Amnesty, he said, is that 1996 VDIS and the present scheme is not structured that way.

"This is not structured that way. You pay 30 percent tax and 7.5 percent and another 7.5 percent, which is 45 percent, ending up paying one and a half times more.

"So you are paying penalties for not paying tax on time. This is intending to bring some money from outside the system to into the system," the minister said.

The government plans to open the compliance window under the Income Tax Disclosure Scheme from June 1 to September 30, 2016 with option to pay amount due within 2 months of declaration.

In the last Budget, the government had come out with similar compliance window for people holding undisclosed assets abroad.