No official estimation of black money: Finance ministry informs Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: The Finance Ministry on Tuesday informed the Rajya Sabha that there is no official official estimation of black money in the country.

Responding to the question on official estimation of black money in the country, MoS Finance Anurag Singh Thakur said the government has taken several concrete steps to crack down on black money that include enactment of ‘the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015’ which has come into force w.e.f. 01.07.2015 to specifically and more effectively deal with the issue of black money stashed away abroad.

Other major initiative includes enactment of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 to comprehensively amend the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 with a view to, inter alia, enable confiscation of benami property and prosecution of benamidar and the beneficial owner, he added.

The Government has brought in a large number of legislative provisions in the Income Tax Act, 1961 to effectively tackle the menace of black money. For e.g. restriction on cash transaction of Rs. 2 lakh or more, no deduction under section 80G allowed if cash donation exceeds Rs. 2000, restriction imposed on donations of Rs 2000 or more to political parties otherwise than through a bank account or electoral bonds etc, Thakur informed Rajya Sabha.

Constitution of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Black Money under Chairmanship and Vice-Chairmanship of two former Judges of Supreme Court and proactively engaging with foreign governments with a view to facilitate and enhance the exchange of information under Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs)/Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs)/Multilateral Conventions, are also few measures that the government has taken to curb blackmoney, he said.

Thakur further added that mandatory linking of Aadhar with PAN, which will not only help in de-duplication of PAN but will also prevent potential tax frauds and money- laundering.