Indirect tax evasion, undisclosed income worth Rs. 71,000 crore detected

The Indian government said on Tuesday it had unearthed Rs. 50,000 crore in indirect tax evasion over a period of two years, apart from undisclosed income of Rs. 21,000 crore, as a result of stepped-up efforts. It also said seizures from smugglers rose 32 percent in the two-year period.

"Enhanced enforcement measures have resulted in un-earthing of tax evasion of approximately Rs. 50,000 crore of indirect taxes and undisclosed income of Rs. 21,000 crore (prov.)," according to a finance ministry statement issued on Tuesday.

"The value of goods seized on account of smuggling activities has increased to Rs. 3,963 crore in the last two years (32 percent increase over corresponding two previous years)," it added.

The efforts also resulted in a 25 percent increase to 1,466 cases of prosecution launched during the two-year period, compared to 1,169 cases in the previous two years, the statement said. 

However, the statement was silent on black money recovered, beyond making a reference to the appointment of a special investigation team (SIT) in May 2014 to unearth black money, especially that which had been stashed abroad.

The statement talked of amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, to "enable attachment and confiscation of equivalent asset in India where the asset located abroad cannot be forfeited."

In 2015-16, the gross tax collection was Rs. 14.60 lakh crore, more than the revised estimate of Rs. 14.55 lakh crore and the budget estimate of Rs. 14.45 lakh crore, according to provisional figures released by the Indian government last month.

The indirect tax collection at Rs. 7.11 lakh crore exceeded previous year's receipt by about 31 percent, while direct tax collection at Rs. 7.48 lakh crore was lower than the revised estimate of Rs. 7.52 lakh crore.

[1 lakh = 100,000 | 1 crore = 10 million | 100 crore = 1 billion]