Jewellers in tax net? I-T dept asks transaction details

Kolkata: The Income Tax department has asked jewellers having turnover of more than Rs 1 crore to furnish details about their customers doing cash transaction of above Rs 2 lakh, whether in one go or in tranches in a fiscal.

During meeting with the members of Swarna Shipla Bachao Committee (a body of state-based jewellers) here today, officials of the intelligence and criminal investigation of the I-T department advised them to furnish details about the customers doing such transactions, mainly cash.

Director of I-T, intelligence and criminal investigation, S S Rana told reporters later that the idea behind keeping a tab on such transactions was to find out whether the I-T declarations made by customers were in consonance with their spending habits.

"It also happened that a person filing an I-T return of a few lakh was found to spend millions in foreign trips and high value purchases," Rana pointed out.

He said that the effort of the I-T department was to track the genesis of black money which was generated in the system and also to reduce the volume of cash transactions over a period of time.

The jewellers will have to furnish the details to the I-T department twice a year, failing which they would be imposed steep fines and would also face prosecution.