Family declares Rs 2 lakh crore holdings, I-T department starts probe

New Delhi: A Sayed family from Mumbai-Ajmer had disclosed Rs 2 lakh crores during the Centre’s four-month window for suspected tax dodgers in India to declare their hidden wealth, the income-tax department said on Sunday.

This is besides Rs 13,860 crores declared — during the same black money amnesty scheme — by one Mahesh Kumar Champaklal Shah of Ahmedabad. He has now threatened to disclose the names of politicians and businessmen for whom he was acting as a front.

The income tax department has rejected these two declarations and started investigations to find out those behind these fake claims.

The government’s compliance window had ended on September 30 with Rs 67,382 crores declared, yielding about Rs 30,000 crores to the government in taxes, half of it in the current fiscal itself. The two suspect claims are not part of the Rs 67,382 crores figure.

The I-T department said that it had kept disclosure by these two — Mr Sayed and Mr Shah — under suspension when they were filed because these declarations were found to be suspicious in nature being filed by persons of small means. According to sources, there was also suspicion that they may be laundering black money or acting as fronts for some other influential people.

“After an enquiry, it was found that these declarants were persons of suspicious nature and very small means and the declarations could have been misused. Therefore, after due consideration, the I-T department decided to reject these two declarations,” said an official. He said that the department has commenced enquiries against these declarants to determine the intention behind these false declarations.

Officials said that a family of four — Abdul Razzaque Mohammed Sayed (self), Mohammed Aarif Abdul Razzaque Sayed (son),  Rukhsana Abdul Razzaque Sayed (wife) and Noorjahan Mohammed Sayed (sister — had filed a total declaration of Rs 2 lakh crore. They were shown residents of Bandra (West) in Mumbai Three out of the four PANs were originally registered in Ajmer which were migrated to Mumbai in September 2016, where the declarations were filed.

Mr Shah, who had gone missing last month after making the declaration, had on Saturday appeared on a television show claiming that he was just a face for the money belonging to others.  He told a TV channel that he did not have any black money and the declared amount belongs to “some Indians” and he would contact

The I-T department and give the names of those who had convinced him to declare their unaccounted income as his own.

No sooner did Mr Shah appear on the channel making the dramatic claim, he was taken away for questioning by I-T sleuths. He was allowed to go home later after a night-long interrogation by senior I-T personnel.

The Centre had offered a one-time chance to holders of untaxed incomes and assets to escape prosecution by coming clean and paying — in installments by September 30, 2017 — tax, penalty and cess totaling 45 per cent of the assets disclosed.

Black money has been an intense political issue in India. PM Modi had during the 2014 elections pledged to bring back billions of dollars in black money if elected.