(The scheme for converting black money into white)
The black money (undisclosed money) holders in India need not hoard them anymore. The Government of India has now brought a new scheme called ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme (PMGKDS), 2016’. Under the Scheme, any person who declares his/her undisclosed income under sub-section (1) of section 199C of the Taxation and Investment Regime, shall deposit at least twenty-five percent of the declared undisclosed income, at the authorized banks from December 17, 2016 (Saturday) to March 31, 2017 (Friday). The money so deposited will be maintained in Bonds Ledger Account (BLA) of Reserve Bank of India and same would be repaid to depositor after the expiry of four years.
Besides mandatory deposits of 25% of the undisclosed amount in PMGKDS 2016, the declarant of undisclosed money under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan yojana shall pay Income Tax @ 30% of the undisclosed income, surcharge @33% of tax, and penalty @ 10% of such income. (The income declared shall not be included in the total income of the declarant under IT Act for any assessment year).
The Salient feature of the deposit scheme:
The declarant of the undisclosed money shall make the deposit at an authorized bank in a single payment between December 17, 2016, and March 31, 2017. The deposit of money can be in the form of cash or draft or cheque drawn in favour of the authorized bank accepting such deposit or by electronic transfer. Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a must to comply KYC norms in depositing the money. The person who does not have PAN may apply for PAN card and provide the details submitted by him/her while making the application. The depositor shall furnish the details to the bank on receipt of PAN and the concerned bank would update the PAN details.
The bank on receipt of the deposit money under the scheme issues an acknowledgment for the amount mentioning the name of the declarant and a certificate of holding for the BLA will be issued subsequently by RBI which may be collected from the concerned bank. No interest will be paid to the depositor on the deposit amount. Premature closure of the deposit is not allowed. The deposit cannot be transferred or gifted to any other person.
