IT zeroes in on 50 high-value tax defaulters

New Delhi, Aug 9: Under pressure to unearth black money, the Income Tax department has tracked down over 50 high-value defaulters, who had declared their assets to be zero, with tax liability of over Rs 10 crore.

The department has collected information about these defaulters from various sources and will soon initiate action against them.

"Some taxpayers who have a tax liability of more than Rs 10 crore have been traced. Further action will take place now and respective assessing officers will issue notices to them," a senior I-T officer said.

According to the latest data of the I-T department, out of a total outstanding arrear demand of Rs 2,29,032 crore (till March 2010), an amount of Rs 9,476 crore is unrealised or held up as the assessee are "not traceable" while Rs 92,360 crore are stuck as there are "no assets".

The traced assets, according to I-T sources, were either being created and invested under ''benami'' heads or were not ascribed directly to the defaulting taxpayer, and were on the name of their extended family members or friends.

The department also proposes to put the names of such defaulters in public domain after investigations are over in such cases.

The department is also planning to give wide publicity to its scheme of tapping and encouraging ''informants'' to unearth tax evasion and gain tip-offs on the whereabouts of absconders who have evaded taxes.

PTI