Parliament Watch: Number of taxpayers; effects of demonetisation; black money seized by Central agencies

The 2023 Budget Session of Indian Parliament on Monday saw questions answered on the effects of demonetisation, the number of taxpayers and revenue collected, and black money seized by Central agencies during the last five years..West Bengal Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra sought to know the total number of personal Income Tax and corporate tax payers, and the total tax revenue collected under each slab during each of the last eight years.The MP also asked if the government intends to cease revenue collection under surcharges and cesses in light of the robust collection under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime..The reply by the Finance Ministry revealed that Financial Year (FY) 2021-22 saw 9,67,054 and 6,84,40,784 corporate tax payers and personal tax payers, respectively as opposed to 7,29,363 and 4,35,09,915 in FY 2014-15. The year-wise details are as follows..Instead of total revenue collected under each slab, the reply mentioned the total number of individual taxpayers under each slab for Assessment Year (AY) 2015-16 to 2021-22..In 2021-22, there were 4,11,60,543, 1,40,74,602, and 81,03,067 taxpayers in the 0 to 5 lakhs, 5 to 10 lakhs and 10 lakhs and above slabs, compared to 3,23,71,825, 53,34,381, and 22,54,532 in 2015-16. The year-wise details are as follows:.In FY 2014-15, corporate tax collection was ₹4,28,924.74 crores, while income tax collection was ₹2,58,371.12 crores. In 2021-22, these figures were ₹7,12,037.33 crores and ₹6,73,413.5 crores, respectively. The year-wise details as as follows:.As per the Finance Ministry, there is currently no proposal to withdraw the collection of revenue under surcharges and cess. In its response, the Ministry added that the Finance Bill, 2023 has proposed to reduce the surcharge applicable to certain entities having total taxable income exceeding ₹5 crore from 37% to 25% per cent..Bihar Lok Sabha MPs Rajiv Ranjan Singh and Dinesh Chandra Yadav asked whether demonetisation had helped the government unearth large amounts of black money from people. They also requested information regarding the identities of these people and any action taken against them by the government..The reply by the Ministry of Finance stated that demonetisation efforts undertaken by the Indian government in late 2016 resulted in a significant increase in tax compliance and the detection of black money. From November 2016 to March 2017, the Income Tax (IT) Department conducted 900 search and seizure operations, leading to the seizure of ₹900 crore, including ₹636 crore in cash, and admission of around ₹7,961 crore in undisclosed income. .The following fiscal year saw the highest growth rate of net direct tax collections in seven years, with a rise of 18%. Personal income tax collections and self-assessment tax also showed growth rates of 23.4% and 29.2%, respectively, over the previous fiscal year. Additionally, the number of IT returns filed increased by 25%, with about 1 crore 7 lakh new filers in 2017-18. Corporate taxpayers also showed significant growth in their filings, with a 17.2% increase. The Ministry of Finance stated that these figures indicate a rise in compliance due to the transfer of cash into formal channels following demonetisation..Further, the Ministry stated that demonetisation has aided the government in discovering unaccounted money held by offenders, which was revealed during the investigation of cases by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).The investigations led to the discovery of 107 people involved in generating, acquiring, and projecting unaccounted money, with proceeds of crime worth ₹191.68 crore attached/seized and five accused arrested. 13 prosecution complaints were filed under PMLA, and 10 cases were initiated under FEMA, with ₹2.99 crore worth of currency seized. Eight show cause notices were issued, five of which have been adjudicated, with penalties amounting to ₹1.61 crore imposed. Finally, seized currency amounting to ₹77.81 lakh has also been ordered to be confiscated during adjudication..Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha MP Ramalingam sought information on black money seized by central agencies during each of the last five years, and on cases registered under the Black Money (undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act (BMA)..The details of assets seized during the search and seizure operations by the Income Tax Department from the Financial Year (FY) 2017-18 to FY 2022-23 (up to November, 2022) are as follows:.For the same financial years, up to January, 2023, ₹336.56 crores were seized in relation to evasion of GST, Central Excise or Service Tax (combined) and ₹168,09,22,132 were seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the Customs Field Formations..Further, the reply revealed that under the BMA, 648 disclosures involving undisclosed foreign assets worth ₹4,164 crores were made in the one-time three months compliance window that closed on September 30, 2015. In these cases, the amount collected by way of tax and penalty was about ₹ 2,476 crore.  As on November 30, 2022, assessments under BMA have been completed in 394 cases, raising tax demand of over ₹15,570 crore. Further, 125 prosecution complaints have been filed under the provisions of BMA..During investigation in 13 PMLA cases in relation to predicate offences involving violations related to BMA, proceeds of crime amounting to ₹42.57 crore have been attached and 3 prosecution complaints have been filed.  Further, assets amounting to ₹93.07 crores have been seized under Section 37A of FEMA in 5 cases..To a question by Odisha MP Mahesh Sahoo, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs revealed that during the last five years, 68,892 cases were filed in National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Of these, 1,061 concerned the State of Odisha. The year-wise details since 2018 are as follows: