The Indian government's drive against black money to get back ill-gotten wealth stashed away by its citizens abroad has drawn responses from 638 declarants for total assets worth Rs 3,770 crore ($580 million), an official statement said on Thursday.
The amnesty scheme ended on September 30. It called for a tax of 30% and an equal amount in penalty, which is to be paid before December 31. The compliance window had opened on July 1.
The official statement said the actual quantum of declaration, under what is called the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, was subject to a final reconcilitaion.
India has no official estimate about the quantum of black money stashed away by Indians abroad but unofficial estimates put the sum somewhere between $466 billion and $1.4 trillion.
Even if the lowest estimate of $466 billion stashed away is taken into consideration, the amount declared as part of the drive is barely 1% of it.
- With IANS inputs
