Income Tax Department Focuses on Curbing Tax Evasion and Expanding the Tax Base

* Public awareness programme in Lucknow highlights timely reporting of financial transactions and tax compliance

TIL Desk Lucknow:👉The Intelligence and Criminal Investigation (I&CI) Wing of the Income Tax Department, Lucknow, organised a public awareness programme on Friday at Aayakar Bhawan, Ashok Marg, Lucknow. The programme emphasised the importance of accurate and timely reporting of financial transactions, compliance with tax regulations, and effective measures to curb tax evasion.

Officials highlighted that transparency in financial transactions and timely reporting are essential for strengthening the tax administration system. The I&CI Wing is paying special attention to the reporting of Specified Financial Transactions (SFTs). These include cash deposits and withdrawals in banks, time deposits, share application amounts exceeding Rs. 10 lakh, purchase and sale of immovable property valued at Rs. 45 lakh or more, and purchase and sale of goods worth more than Rs. 2 lakh.

According to the department, the Lucknow I&CI Wing conducted 46 spot verifications during the previous year. These inspections identified 4,311 unreported financial transactions involving a total amount of Rs. 2,747.50 crore. Of these, 1,714 transactions, amounting to Rs. 1,160.75 crore, have since been duly reported. Similarly, 26,628 transactions involving discrepancies were identified, with a total value of Rs. 14,414.82 crore. Of these, details pertaining to 17,487 transactions, worth Rs. 9,293.06 crore, were subsequently corrected.

During the spot verification process, instances were also found where certain banks had not reported interest paid to customers under the applicable reporting requirements. The necessary reporting was completed following the verification. Officials stated that the primary objective of the I&CI Wing is to broaden the tax base and strengthen compliance by ensuring the accurate collection and timely reporting of information related to financial transactions.

As part of these efforts, the mention of Permanent Account Number (PAN) has been made mandatory in the registration of immovable property transactions in Uttar Pradesh. The measure is expected to enhance transparency in property transactions, expand the tax base and help prevent tax evasion.

The initiative is being carried out under the leadership of S.H. Usmani, Director (I&CI), Lucknow, and Sonal Singh, Joint Director (I&CI), Lucknow. The programme and related efforts have also received support from Sandeep Singh, Deputy Director (I&CI), Lucknow; Rakesh Kumar Verma, Income Tax Officer (I&CI), Lucknow; and Abhishek Verma, Income Tax Officer (Headquarters), Lucknow.