ARCs, gaming, betting under lens: CBDT chief
New Delhi, August 27, 2022
Search and survey/seizure operations by the I-T department yield about Rs 5,000-6,000 crore annually, sources said. However, these have a deterring impact and force tax evaders to be compliant, thereby boosting overall tax collections.
Aided by data from multiple sources and data analytics, the income tax department has started scrutinising newer areas such as asset reconstruction companies, gaming and betting to plug tax evasion.
“We are not limiting our actions (search and seizure operations) to real estate developers, healthcare, pharma and manufacturing. We have touched upon new areas which were never touched upon,” Central Board of Direct Taxes chairman Nitin Gupta has said.
Search and seizure operations of the tax department have increased in recent months aided by data sharing with various other agencies and departments. Analysts have said that goods and services tax (GST) data has also contributed to a sharp rise in direct tax collections in the last two years.
Search and survey/seizure operations by the I-T department yield about Rs 5,000-6,000 crore annually, sources said. However, these have a deterring impact and force tax evaders to be compliant, thereby boosting overall tax collections.
During a recent search operation, the tax department found that players associated with just one gaming portal have netted as much as Rs 58,000 crore in the three years through FY22 as the gross winning amount, but hardly paid any taxes.
Gupta said the tax department was also getting voluminous data through the common reporting standard (CRS), an information-gathering and reporting requirement for financial institutions in participating countries/jurisdictions, to help fight against tax evasion and protect the integrity of tax systems. It also gets a lot of data from FATCA (foreign account tax compliance act of the United States).
“We are using data analytics to identify to the extent possible, and doing risk management as well to arrive at which cases can be more potential for investigation and verification. So the data is being shared with the investigation divisions is up to 2019,” Gupta said.
With the increasing workload on the I-T department, which has manpower of 45,000, the CBDT chairman said he was planning to address several pending issues such as human resource (HR) issues. “Timely promotion is a big thing for any official and then the placement of the officers and identification of their competencies/capabilities,” Gupta said.
[The Financial Express]
