NEW DELHI: The income tax department has turned the spotlight on cash transactions of over Rs 2 lakh in property deals and has come across several instances in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, especially in districts bordering Nepal, where there have been violations and sub-registrars have not shared data.
During a nationwide exercise - undertaken following Supreme Court directions in April - tax officials also stumbled upon several transactions where the entire transaction was in cash.
What has perplexed tax authorities is misreporting of data by sub-registrars in districts in Bihar and UP, prompting the department to raise the issue with top officials in the two states. The state govts have been asked to instruct sub-registrars to share data and follow due process while registering properties. In fact, within weeks of the top court order, the tax department had written to the registration directorate in the states.
While sub-registrars were asked to share data, a verification done over last few months has shown widespread misreporting for the last three financial years. In fact, tax authorities also conducted spot verification in districts such as Kishanganj, Sitamarhi, Araria and Madhubani in Bihar, where 250-300 instances were noticed with information on over Rs 2 lakh cash transactions not being shared.
Besides, sub-registrars also failed to report property transactions of over Rs 30 lakh mandated by law. For instance, officials said, over three years in one sub-registrar office in Bihar, at least 600 transactions involving property deeds over Rs 250 crore were not reported. Similarly, PAN details were not captured and shared.
The problem is not so acute in UP, where officials have undertaken spot verification in districts such a Maharajganj and Pilibhit, among others. But there are a large number of defective entries, officials said, with prevalence of cash above Rs 2 lakh seen, although on a smaller scale.
Over the last few years, the tax department has sought to crack down on cash transactions, especially in high value deals, and is collecting massive amounts of data to track those violating the law and crack down on black money.
During a nationwide exercise - undertaken following Supreme Court directions in April - tax officials also stumbled upon several transactions where the entire transaction was in cash.
What has perplexed tax authorities is misreporting of data by sub-registrars in districts in Bihar and UP, prompting the department to raise the issue with top officials in the two states. The state govts have been asked to instruct sub-registrars to share data and follow due process while registering properties. In fact, within weeks of the top court order, the tax department had written to the registration directorate in the states.
While sub-registrars were asked to share data, a verification done over last few months has shown widespread misreporting for the last three financial years. In fact, tax authorities also conducted spot verification in districts such as Kishanganj, Sitamarhi, Araria and Madhubani in Bihar, where 250-300 instances were noticed with information on over Rs 2 lakh cash transactions not being shared.
Besides, sub-registrars also failed to report property transactions of over Rs 30 lakh mandated by law. For instance, officials said, over three years in one sub-registrar office in Bihar, at least 600 transactions involving property deeds over Rs 250 crore were not reported. Similarly, PAN details were not captured and shared.
The problem is not so acute in UP, where officials have undertaken spot verification in districts such a Maharajganj and Pilibhit, among others. But there are a large number of defective entries, officials said, with prevalence of cash above Rs 2 lakh seen, although on a smaller scale.
Over the last few years, the tax department has sought to crack down on cash transactions, especially in high value deals, and is collecting massive amounts of data to track those violating the law and crack down on black money.
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