Rs 5,000 Cr black money unearthed in Assam & NE over 8 yrs: Income Tax Dept

Guwahati, June 25: The Income Tax Department has detected ‘black money’ worth nearly Rs 5,000 crore in Assam and other states of the Northeast over the past eight years.

This has once again turned the spotlight on systemic tax leakage and shadow economies thriving across the region.

According to information available, a significant surge has been reported during the fiscal year 2023-24 during which the investigation wing of the department detected Rs 1,049 crore of unaccounted money, which is more than three times more than Rs 298 crore detected in 2022–23.

However, it was in the year 2020-21 that Rs 1517 crore black money was detected, the highest ever between 2016-17 and 2023-24.

“This sharp uptick marks one of the highest recoveries by the department in recent memory, reflecting both the scale of hidden finances and the beefed-up efforts of the tax authorities,” an Income Tax official told this reporter.

However, the department has conducted only 50 targeted searches in Assam in the last eight years. In 2023-24, only five searches were conducted by the IT department. Similarly, in the preceding two years, only eight searches were conducted. In the last eight, the year 2020-21 saw the highest number of searches at 19.

Sources in know of the investigations said that the recovered assets include cash, property documents, and digital records, pointing to layered routes of money laundering, shell firms, and tax evasion.

While the names of the individuals and companies remain officially undisclosed due to legal sensitivities, insiders hint at a mix of high-profile businessmen, contractors, and politically exposed persons under the radar.

However, sources maintained that the recoveries still trail behind the more industrialized and urbanized states of the country.

“If undisclosed income is admitted by the assessee during the search, and the tax and interest are paid and a return is filed, a penalty of 30 per cent of such undisclosed income is payable. In all other cases, penalty is leviable at 60 per cent,” a legal expert said.

According to sources, hundreds of individuals and entities across the region are still under the scanner and that they would soon face crackdowns after due intelligence-gathering and forensic financial tracking.

Sources also said that amid the surge in recovery of black money, there is also a rise in voluntary compliance, especially among small and medium business units and professionals, which is a good sign.

By

Sanjay Roy