Inform tax evasion and get up to Rs 5 crores as your reward!

You could have got reward up to Rs 50 lakh for giving foolproof information about evasion of income tax on in the country, but now you can be richer by Rs 5 crores. The new guidelines which came into effect immediately have made this provision. This would also be applied to the money kept in the foreign assets.

These provisions can also fetch anyone a reward of Rs one crore who could inform about Benami properties. The scheme has already been implemented in the whole of the country.

As per the directive of the Income Tax Department, the information should be provided in a prescribed system to the officers of Investigation Directorates in Department, nominated for the purpose.

The Government say that the scheme has been launched to give a boost to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s drive against black money in the country and resisting the habit of tax evasion amongst the taxpayers.

The CBDT– the department responsible for the tax regime on the income, has announced the salient features and guidelines of Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018. Any person, which includes foreigners, can inform designated Joint or Additional Commissioners about benami transactions and properties which can be tried later under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016.

Usually, the reward amount can be up to the tune of 10 per cent of the amount of the tax evaded, as per the guidelines. The limit of the amount which has been increased substantially has been revised upwardly in the year 2007, 2015 and today.

There is a rider too, to become eligible for the scheme. If you will send the details through an open letter, e-mail, CD, WhatsApp, SMS, phone or has already posted it in social networking site, you will not be eligible to get the reward. Similarly, publishing letter in newspaper or any other media would also render you ineligible for the reward.

The department is responsible for the confidentiality of the informer. It will be ensured that the reward schemes will make the identity of the persons giving information very confidential.