One-time window for declaring assets abroad

One-time window for declaring assets abroad
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Highlights

The Union government will give a one-time \'short window\' to holders of black money abroad to declare their wealth, pay taxes and penalty and escape prosecution under the proposed stringent law to deal with the menace. Insisting that it is neither an amnesty nor a VDIS scheme, Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das said the only advantage under the scheme would be escape from prosecution.

New Delhi: The Union government will give a one-time 'short window' to holders of black money abroad to declare their wealth, pay taxes and penalty and escape prosecution under the proposed stringent law to deal with the menace. Insisting that it is neither an amnesty nor a VDIS scheme, Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das said the only advantage under the scheme would be escape from prosecution.

The source of income would have to be declared which would be thoroughly scrutinised. Das was elaborating upon Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's budget proposal to come out with a stringent law to deal with the black money stashed abroad. He, however, refused to fix a timeframe of the window. Asked if the window may be for six months or a year, he said, “when I say short window, it means a short window.”

Earlier, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha had said the failure to unveil assets abroad would invite a rigorous jail term of up to seven years, while concealment of income and tax evasion would result in 10-year imprisonment. These provisions will be part of a Bill that the government plans to bring in the current session of Parliament to check the black money menace. On whether the government would provide a six months window to people having assets abroad to come clean, Das said “nobody from government has said so.”

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