Default of tax will lead to blockage of PAN, denial of loans, says I-T plan.
Default of tax will lead to blockage of PAN, denial of loans, says I-T plan.
With a sharp rise in the number of non-filers of income-tax returns, the income-tax department has asked its officers to impose penalty and initiate prosecution in such cases to ensure compliance.
The number of non-filers with potential tax liabilities has risen from 22.09 lakh in 2014 to 58.95 lakh in 2015. Non filers in 2013 were 12.19 lakh.
“Ensuring compliance from identified non-filers with potential tax liabilities is key to widening of tax base,” said the I-T department’s central action plan for 2016-17, presented at the conference of tax officials.
The I-T Department has implemented the non-filers monitoring system (NMS) as a pilot project to prioritise action on non-filers with potential tax liabilities. The number of non-filers has been thr-own up by NMS. “Action under sections 271F (pen-alty for non-filing of retu-rn of income) and 276CC (prosecution for non-filing of return of income) should be taken in appropriate cases,” it said.
In an attempt to shore up tax revenues, the taxmen are also planning to crack down on wilful tax defaulters.
As per a strategy paper prepared by the department, the taxman will block PAN in such a way “that these defaulters are not sanctioned any loans or overdraft facility by public sector banks, as the same is bound to become non-performing assets”.
Further, it said, the “ministry of finance can be suggested to withdra-wn facility like LPG subsidy which is directly credited in to the bank accounts of the said defaulters.”
This step, the strategy paper said, will act to “disincentive” the defaulters.
The taxman also proposes that the identities of such blocked PANs be circulated to the Registrar of Properties “with a request for not allowing any registration of immovable properties where such PANs are involved.”
Such defaulters’ information has also been recommended to be circulated across tax offices so that their activities loans or government subsidy can be plugged country-wide.
The department has also decided to subscribe to the Credit Information Bureau Limited (CIBIL) data, on a possible payment basis, to check out the financial activities of defaulters and undertake action against them for recovery and freezing of assets.
CIBIL is an agency to collect and maintain rec-ords of an entities’ payments pertaining to loans and credit cards.
