Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

11-May-2012 17:52 IST

IT Evasion of Builders

The Income Tax Department conducts search, seizure and survey operations based on credible information relating to ‘persons’ which includes individuals, Hindu undivided families (HUFs), firms, companies, association of persons (AoPs), body of individuals (BoIs), local authorities and any artificial juridical person who are in possession of any money, bullion, jewellery, documents or any other valuable article or thing which represents undisclosed income of such persons. These are carried out in cases of persons engaged in diversified businesses/ professions spread all over the country, Person-wise/ sector-wise/ commissionerate-wise/ state-wise details are not maintained centrally.

The Income Tax Department takes several punitive and deterrent steps to unearth unaccounted money and curb tax evasion. These include scrutiny of returns, surveys, search and seizure action, imposition of penalty and launching of prosecution in appropriate cases.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri S.S. Palanimanickam in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

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DSM/SS/SL

Tax enforcement targets concealed income using searches, seizures and penalties to unearth unaccounted assets and prosecute where appropriate. The Income Tax Department conducts searches, seizures and surveys on credible information indicating possession of money, bullion, jewellery, documents or other valuables that may represent undisclosed income, applying these powers to individuals, HUFs, firms, companies, associations, bodies of individuals, local authorities and other juridical persons; operations are intelligence-driven and centralised person/sector/state-level details are not maintained.