Cash deposits before April 1, 2017 can be disclosed under PMGKY

Government today said any unaccounted cash or deposit in a bank account before April 1, 2017 can be disclosed under the new disclosure scheme PMGKY that comes with 50 per cent tax and penalty. 

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) provides for 50 per cent tax and surcharge on declarations of unaccounted cash deposited in banks. Declarants also have to park a quarter of the total sum in a non-interest bearing deposit for four years.

"A declaration in respect of any income, in the form of cash or deposit in an account maintained by the person with a specified entity, chargeable to tax under the Income Tax Act for any assessment year commencing on or before April 1, 2017, can be made under the scheme," Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in a written reply in Lok Sabha. 

The Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by Lok Sabha as a Money Bill on November 29 and the PMGKY scheme forms part of the Bill. 

Gangwar said the scheme does not provide any immunity to the declarant in respect of detention under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, offence punishable under Chapter IX or XVII of the Indian Penal Code, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. 

It also does not provide immunity from the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Prohibition of Benami Property Transaction Act, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the Special Court Act and the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets and Imposition of Tax) Act, he clarified. 

In a major assault on black money, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 8 announced demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and asked holders to deposit such notes in banks. Since then, people have been queuing up before the banks to deposit the junked currencies. 

Since November 10, Rs 12.44 lakh crore in the form of old 500 and 1,000 notes have returned to the banking system. It was estimated that the now-defunct notes constituted 86 per cent, or Rs 15.4 lakh crore, in circulation.