Cauldron identifies undeclared assets worth Rs 50,000 in India in Panama Papers scam

New Delhi, Dt

An investigation by Indian tax authorities has uncovered undisclosed assets worth more than Rs 20,000 crore, based on details released in the Pulitzer Prize-winning research Panama Papers revealing how rich people and authorities around the world organize their money in tax havens.

Responding to a petition under the Right to Information Act, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said that by June 2021, the probe had finally identified undeclared assets worth Rs 30,04 crore at home and abroad.

The details of the scam were revealed in April 2016 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) with the help of 100 media partners after studying 11.5 million classified documents obtained from Panamanian law firm Mosaic Fonseca. Details of the scam in India were published by the Indian Express newspaper.

Interestingly, according to the CBDT, undeclared assets worth Rs 104 crore were identified in April 2016 and Rs 15 crore in June 2016, compared to what the CBDT said was a large amount of undeclared assets this time. Explaining the steps taken by the CBDT, the report said that under the Black Money Act and the Income Tax Act, six cases have been registered in various courts of the country and a search and survey has been conducted in eight cases. Significantly, the CBDT has stated that tax has also been levied in these cases. A tax of Rs 15 crore has also been levied on those against whom cases have been filed. As the case goes to court, the amount of tax levied will also increase.

Five years after the Panama Papers investigation into the international scandal began, the ICIJ estimates that tax authorities around the world have collected more than ૧ 1.5 billion in taxes and fines. The highest tax collection figures were in the UK, Germany, Spain, France and Austria.