48 lakh Jan Dhan accounts under tax scanner

New Delhi: Deposits in Jan Dhan account have more than doubled to Rs 87,000 crore in 45 days post-demonetisation, prompting the tax department to “dissect” information relating to such deposits, a top government official said.

Besides, the tax department also has data on small cash deposits between Rs 30,000-50,000 made in 4.86 lakh accounts totaling to Rs 2,000 crore.

Between November 10-December 23, the total deposits in Jan Dhan accounts reported is Rs 41,523 crore in 48 lakh accounts.

This, together with the total deposits of Rs 45,637 crore as on November 9, takes the aggregate amount in Jan Dhan accounts to over Rs 87,100 crore.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana was launched in August 2014 to increase banking penetration and promote financial inclusion in the country.

“All these information received on Jan Dhan Accounts are being dissected. If it is found that money deposited in these accounts belong to some other persons, necessary action will be taken at appropriate time,” the official said.

Cash deposit between Rs 30,000 and Rs 50,000 have been reported in 4.86 lakh accounts till November 30, taking the total deposits in such quantum to Rs 2,022 crore.

The official further said that inflows of funds into Jan Dhan accounts was the highest in the first week after demonetisation at Rs 20,224 crore, but after that the deposits went down substantially.

“The inflow of funds in Jan Dhan accounts after the first two weeks was below Rs 5,000 crore per week and thereafter it got reduced to about Rs 1,000 crore per week,” the official said, adding that the deposits have come down significantly after the tax department warned people not to allow their accounts to be misused for converting black money into white.

Uttar Pradesh tops the list of states with most deposits in Jan Dhan accounts, followed by West Bengal and Rajasthan.

In the last fortnight, the total deposit came down by Rs 3,285 crore. This was despite the fact that the monthly upper withdrawal limit was fixed at Rs 10,000 per month from November 30 to check misuse of Jan Dhan accounts.

After setting a cash deposit limit of Rs 50,000 in Jan Dhan accounts, the government had on November 18 cautioned account holders that they will be prosecuted under the I-T Act for allowing misuse of their bank accounts through deposit of black money till December 30.

Interestingly, the percentage of zero balance accounts under Jan Dhan still remains flat at about 24.13 per cent despite surge in deposits.