Compliance window in black money law is not amnesty: Shaktikanta Das

NEW DELHI: The short window for declaring undisclosed assets under the proposed black money law will spare tax payers of prosecution but will have to pay tax and penalty as it won't be an amnesty scheme.

However, those already under probe cannot avail of this window, Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das said today.

The objective of the black money bill is to act as a strong deterrent against creation of black money or holding of unaccounted, illegitimate assets abroad, he added.

"Intention of the black money bill is to act as a strong deterrent against creation of black money or holding of unaccounted illegitimate assets abroad.

"The one time (compliance) opportunity that we are giving...there is no provision for soft landing for anybody, there is no soft landing procedure. This is not an amnesty scheme. If somebody wants to come clean, let him come clean," he said.

Elaborating further, Das said in an amnesty scheme a person only pay the tax and no penalty is levied.

"This (the proposed law) is a compliance facility, one time compliance facility where there is tax, plus there is penalty," Das said.

He said there is no intention for revenue realisation in the proposed law.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today introduced in the Lok Sabha an 88-clause The Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill, 2015' that seeks to unearth black money and assets stashed abroad.

In the statement of objects and reasons appended to the Bill, Jaitley said a limited window is provided to offenders to file a declaration before a specified tax authority within a period, followed by payment of tax at 30 per cent and an equal amount of penalty.

Details about the compliance window would be notified after the bill is passed by Parliament.

Das further said the proposed law is "a momentous piece of legislation" which will play a very important and significant role in curbing black money in our country.

However, the new window will not apply to people against whom legal or assessment process has already been initiated by the tax department.

"Therefore, the kind of cases where we have already got the list or we already know about those cases through other sources, naturally they will not be able to get benefit out of this compliance," Das said.

Asked about probe against HSBC Bank, the Secretary said he will not go into that because that entire matter is "under investigation".

"Something which is under investigation, we will not be able to reveal. When the Income Tax department decides to launch prosecution at that stage naturally you will automatically come to know (about it)," Das added.