CBDT Launches Drive To Curb Black Money and Tax Evasion

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has ordered the field formations of the Income Tax Department to increase their efforts to control black money and tax evasion through detailed planning and a clear deadline to ensure that businesses with undisclosed income comply with the tax system.

As per a media report, each jurisdiction of the income tax department is instructed to carry out at least one major search and seizure operation, with two more planned between August and March 2026. CBDT believes that it can uncover undisclosed income worth Rs. 2.4 lakh crore during the current financial year.

CBDT has further instructed that 60% of the target should be met by conducting searches and raids. The remaining 40% of the target must be achieved using tools like data analysis and financial investigations. As a result, the income tax department has been asked to make detailed reports using data on industries where tax evasion is common and where enough information is not shared. These industries could include manufacturing, services, mining, liquor, international trade, hawala, healthcare, scrap dealing, and other areas that aren’t properly regulated, according to the report.

CBDT highlights that as informal transactions go unnoticed, there is a need to look into industries with a high scale of unreported income and to create plans to bring these sectors into the formal system and improve tax compliance. The goal is to boost the country’s revenue by controlling businesses from avoiding taxes because of limited data in the tax system.

India’s direct tax collections for FY 2024-25 have crossed targets, with net collections reaching Rs 11,82,875 crore, a 17% increase from the previous year, according to the Finance Ministry. The tax buoyancy factor, which indicates growth, increased to 1.57 from 1.54 in FY 2023-24, showing the country’s strong fiscal health.