Tax evasion may attract criminal charges: Black money panel

The Central Board of Direct Taxes headed panel on black money asked agencies like the Enforcement Directorate,Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)-headed panel on black money today asked agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED),Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI),Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) among others,to review the existing legislation under their purview and find out what aspects of law create problems in tackling the menace of illicit money generation.

Further,the panel,in its first meeting today,also said agencies involved should explore whether tax evasion can be declared as a criminal offence,official sources told The Indian Express.

In fact,the committee,set up on May 28 to examine ways to curb generation,illegal transfer abroad and recovery of black money,plans to initiate a public debate on the subject and for that it will invite their comments on a dedicated e-mail address where all stakeholders can give their suggestions,the sources added. The committee will seek views from the banking sector,capital markets,India Inc as well.

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The agencies will take up the legislation that fall under their purview like,for instance,ED will review the Prevention of money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Foreign Exchange management Act (FEMA) and the income tax department will look into Income Tax Act,1961. The committee will also review Central Excise Act,the sources added.

Basically we have to see if the existing laws are adequate or not,what can be done to plug the loopholes,if any,in these legislation or do we need a separate legislation to tackle the menace of black money, the sources said.

The committee is mandated to suggest whether illicit wealth can be declared as national asset,enacting or amending laws to confiscate and recover such wealth and suggesting exemplary punishment against its perpetrators.

The panel,which includes member (L&C),CBDT,ED,DRI,Director General (Currency),foreign taxation department,law ministry,and FIU,is expected to submit its report in six months.

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However,all the members of the panel are expected to give their feed back in 10 days time and an internal framework on the strategy would be prepared by the end of this month, the sources added.

The sources said declaring tax evasion as a criminal offence is a subject of debate globally,so the committee is likely to explore that aspect of tax evasion as well. In fact,OECD is also discussing about concepts like financial crimes and ill-gotten wealth,which were never talked about earlier, the sources added.

The meeting assumes importance in view of the ongoing protest by yoga guru Baba Ramdev,whose fast entered the sixth day today,civil society,and a high-voltage political drama against corruption in general and black money in particular.