Income Tax Department Recovers Rs 37,000 Crore from Non-Filers Over 20 Months

It has been a very tough season for those who evade their taxes as the Income Tax Department has recovered a substantial amount of Rs 37,000 crore from non-filers over the last 20 months. This huge recoveries were made after the high value transactions from the 2019-20 financial year have come under a strict analysis.

The department identified non-compliant individuals based on their involvement in substantial transactions, such as purchasing gems, jewelry, and property, and also luxury holidays paid in cash. Officials noted that many of these individuals were not filing tax returns, despite engaging in activities indicative of substantial income.

According to sources, the enhanced collection system of taxes and a strict regime of TDS have had a vital role in tracking such activities. With enhanced surveillance tools, it has become relatively easier to detect and penalize those whose financial dealings do not go with the level of declared income.

It was noticed that some individuals were trying to evade their liability by filing returns that stated that they had no income at all, although they had made substantial expenditures. Out of the total amount recovered, Rs 1,320 crore was found to have been made through high-value transactions with people.

The department has introduced a big-scale exercise to detect those taxpayers whose expenditure behaviors lead the authority to suspect them of undisclosed income. Through the Non-Filer Monitoring System and data analytics, authorities have detected such people who had otherwise managed to evade tax payment.

This initiative has synchronized several sources of data, thus making the whole process of identification easier and straightforward, and allowing the authorities to deal more effectively with differences. The clampdown demonstrates the department’s commitment to ensuring compliance with taxpayers.

In parallel, direct tax collections for April to November this fiscal year have increased by 15.4% to Rs 12.10 lakh crore. Corporate tax collections have been Rs 5.10 lakh crore and non-corporate tax collections at Rs 6.61 lakh crore, which in itself is a reflection of the success of enhanced tax administration measures.

The Income Tax Department’s aggressive approach shows that it intends to collect taxes and to recover dues from those who try to evade their obligations.