Rs. 4,479 Crore In Indians' Hsbc-List Accounts: Special Investigation

[timmy]

NEW DELHI:  In its first major disclosure about money held in Swiss banks, the government today said Rs. 4,479 crore is held in accounts owned by Indians, who figured on the HSBC list, and the Income Tax Department has initiated action against 79 of such account holders.

Besides, the tax department and other agencies including Enforcement Directorate are probing cases involving unaccounted wealth totallingRs. 14,957.95 crore within India.

In case of suspected black money abroad, the disclosure relates to a list of 628 Indians, who figured on a list of account holders in HSBC's Geneva branch that India had got from the French government.

Out of these, no balance has been found in the case of 289 accounts, according to a report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money which was submitted to the Supreme Court.

"Out of the 628 persons, 201 are either non-residents or non-traceable, leaving 427 persons cases as actionable cases," an official statement said while releasing "relevant portion of the second report of SIT on black money".

The amount involved in these cases is about Rs. 4,479 crore. Of this, the Income Tax Department has finalised assessment for 79 entities involving more than 300 cases.

"An amount of Rs. 2,926 crore has been brought to tax towards the undisclosed balances in the accounts relating to these persons," the statement said, adding that taxes along with interest at applicable rates have been levied.

"Penalty proceedings under Income Tax Act, 1961 have been initiated in 46 cases. Such penalties have been levied in 3 cases so far. With regard to other assesses, proceedings are pending," it said.

The statement, however, did not disclose the names of the the account holders.

Prosecutions have been initiated in 6 cases for wilful attempts to evade taxes besides show cause notices have been issued in 10 others, it said.

"In other cases, necessary action is being expedited and substantial progress is expected in coming months," it added.

Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said at a function in New Delhi that proceedings in the cases related to the HSBC list will be completed by March 31, 2015.