Lok Sabha Question No. 2804 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-28
Subject: Black Money
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: KRISHNAN NARAYANASAMY RAMACHANDRAN

(a): Yes Madam.

- (b) & (e): The Government has taken several concrete actions in this regard which include putting in place robust legislative and administrative frameworks, systems and processes with due focus on capacity building and integration of information and its mining through increasing use of information technology.  Recent major initiatives in this regard include -
- (i) 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.
- (ii) Enactment of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 to 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.
- (iii) Restriction on cash transaction of Rs. 2 lakh or more (Section 269ST of the I.T. Act) were imposed.
- (iv) No deduction under section 80G allowed w.e.f. 01.04.2018 if cash donation exceeds Rs. 2000, and restriction imposed on donations of Rs.2000/- or more to political parties otherwise than by a bank account or through electoral bonds.
- (v) In case of tax evasion or non -compliance of any relevant provisions of the Direct tax laws by any person, the prosecution, as appropriate, is launched against the concerned person as per law.
- (vi) Wherever required,  systematic  improvements  and  reforms  have  been  undertaken  to provide transparent citizen-friendly services and reduce corruption, like: (a) Disbursement of welfare benefits directly to the citizens under various schemes of the Government in a transparent manner through the Direct Benefit Transfer initiative. (b) Implementation of e-tendering in public procurements. (c) Introduction of e-governance

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2804 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, 28 TH  DECEMBER, 2018

PAUSHA 7, 1940 (SAKA)

## BLACK MONEY

## 2804: SHRI K.N. RAMACHANDRAN:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

(a)  whether the Government has taken steps to curb black money and corruption in the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether even after demonetization and other efforts, black money menace is not stopped in the country;

(d) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and

(e) the steps taken by the Government to curb this menace?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR FINANCE (SHRI SHIV PRATAP SHUKLA)

and  simplification  of  procedures  and  systems.  (d)  Introduction  of  Government procurement through the Government e- Marketplace (GeM).

- (vii) Discontinuation of interviews in recruitment of Group 'B' (Non- Gazetted) and Group 'C' posts in Government of India.
- (viii) Issue of instructions by the CVC asking the organizations to adopt Integrity Pact in major procurement activities.

(c)  &  (d):    Appropriate  action  against  black  money  is  an  on-going  process.  However, demonetization  has  had  a  positive  impact  on  curbing  black  money  and  improving  tax compliance, which is duly reflected from the following: -

- (i) Robust  growth  rate  of  18%  for  F.Y.  2017-18  in  net  direct  tax  collections  which  is highest in last seven financial years is indicative of the positive impact of demonetization on the level of tax compliance in the country.
- (ii) In 2017-18, Personal Income-tax (PIT) Advance Tax collections increased by 23.4% and  PIT  Self-Assessment  Tax  by  29.2%  over  those  for  2016-17,  corroborating  the premise that demonetization and the subsequent use of bank deposit data by the Incometax Department had a major impact on voluntary tax payments by the non-corporate/ individual taxpayers.
- (iii)A growth rate of 25% has been achieved in the number of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) filed with the Income-tax Department during FY 2017-18. It has been the highest rate achieved in last five years.
- (iv) A clear upswing in the new tax filers after F.Y. 2015-16 has been observed which can be  attributed  to  higher  level  of  compliance  due  to  transfer  of  cash  into  the  formal channels as a result of demonetization.

********