Black money window: IT dept to publish list of asset valuers

New Delhi: The Income Tax department will soon put out a list of registered valuers of various categories of assets for those who wish to declare their untaxed funds and properties under the one-time domestic black money compliance window that opened Wednesday.

Officials said a decision to upload details of valuers, along with their contact details, on the IT department's website, was taken recently by CBDT after it received queries from various quarters about the ambiguity and difficulty in declaring the value of an untaxed or black asset under the window, called the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS), 2016.

While rules for IDS stipulate that the fair market value of the asset to be declared under the scheme will be as on June 1, 2016 as deemed to be the undisclosed income, its exact valuation procedure was creating doubts among people.

"Hence, the Central Board of Direct Taxes had asked all regional offices in the country to send to it the names of all registered valuers and their contacts in their jurisdiction. Valuers are registered with the IT department under the Wealth Tax Rules," a senior IT department official said.

The official said it is also proposed to put up this list in the regional Aaykar Sampark Kendras (ASKs) which are run by the department to facilitate taxpayer services.

"Names and details of the valuers shall be published within a week's time as the four-month window has been operationalised from today and CBDT and IT department do not want any hassles or state of confusion for the prospective declarants," the official said.

A valuation of asset done by an authorised valuer is accepted as the fair value of an asset by the taxman and with this seal of approval, the declarant is expected to be sure about the market value of the asset furnished under IDS.

Under the scheme, income as declared by the eligible persons would be taxed at the rate of 45 percent which is 30 percent plus a 'Krishi Kalyan Cess' of 25 percent and a penalty at the rate of 25 percent.

These taxes have to be paid by November 30 after the window closes in September.

The scheme was announced by the government with an aim to pump out black money from the domestic economy.

Earlier, government had come out with a similar scheme for Indians holding undisclosed income abroad.

The scheme will apply to undisclosed income whether in the form of investment in assets or otherwise, pertaining to financial year 2015-16 or earlier.

Declarations under IDS can either be made online on the official e-filing website of the IT department or before various regional Principal Commissioners of IT in the country.