Income Disclosure Scheme(IDS) over, now you can report a tax defaulter and win the handsome reward

As you are aware that the deadline for Income disclosure scheme (IDS) was over on 30th September 2016.

Few would be aware that the Income Tax Department had launched the scheme to catch the tax defaulters. Anyone would report tax defaulter and win handsome reward

Do you know of a person who is tax defaulter and has not disclosed his undeclared income to Income Tax Department under IDS Scheme? If yes, you can win handsome rewards too.

The scheme was introduced on 26 August 2015 vide scheme no 07/2015

Its text read as follows—
“following guidelines will regulate the grant of reward to informants leading to recovery of taxes of tax defaulters whose names have been published in public domain under section 287of the Income Tax Act, 1961”
The salient points of the scheme are –

1. The Guidelines are applicable where the Jurisdictional Pr Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner is satisfied that the tax recovery could be possible only with the information shared by the informant and not otherwise.

2. The reward would be disbursed once all assessments are finalized and due amount of tax recovered with no appeals pending against such recovery. The information shared by the informant should be accompanied by relevant proofs. In case such documents cannot be shared by him, he should inform the location form where the documents can be recovered

3. The monetary ceiling on the reward is 10% of the amount recovered subject to overall ceiling of Rs 15 lacs per case. The recoveries should be entirely attributed to the information and the reward would be totally ex-gratia in nature. No appeal would lie against the reward given

4. In cases of reward exceeding Rs 1 lac, the same shall be approved by committee of three officers comprising of Pr Chief Commissioner, chief commissioner nominated by Pr CCIT and one more chief commissioner of the region

5. For the purpose of reward, the information must have been actually acted upon. The Jurisdictional Pr CIT would be deciding officer to decide whether the action needs to be taken on such information shared by the informant.

6. The informant should sign the written statement about the information submitted. In case of his refusal in doing so, no reward would be admissible.

7. The informant is also to declare and undertake that the information as shared by him per-se does not entitle him for the reward and that the reward would be subject to usefulness of the information supplied by him; that he understands that in event of flase information he can be subject to prosecution; and that he cannot contest the decision of the assessing officers.

8. While approving the reward, the authority would have to consider, the authenticity of information; risk taken by informant while sharing information; quantum of tax recovered

9. The identity of the informant would be kept secret;

10. Before disbursing the award exceeding Rs 1 lac, the Pr CIT would have to take certificate from Internal Audit team

11. The reward would not be admissible in case the informant is Government Servant who in ordinary course of discharge of his duties should have shared the information or the informant has access to the information by virtue of his being Government servant;

12. The reward would also not be given where the assessee is not traceable or there are no sufficient assets with him to enable recovery of taxes or if the name of such assessee have already been published in public domain under section 287 of Income Tax Act 1961