There are two types of people in the world: those who pay taxes on time and then there those who, without a care, don’t bother about taxes and find convenient ways to evade them. However, the Income Tax Department is two steps ahead and has employed satellites to catch such tax evaders.
How will a satellite help in nabbing tax evaders? Read on to know the whole story!
First Time Ever: Satellite Images Help Catch Tax Invaders
With the help of satellites, the Income Tax Department was able to reveal a tax invasion of a whopping Rs. 15 crores. This is the first ever incident where technology and science were employed to nab a tax evader.
Amrendra Kumar, principal directory (investigation) if IT said, “The department is taking help of technology to nab those who are evading tax. This is probably the first-ever case of using satellite image to reach the accused and the technology will be used in future too.”
Commercial Complex on Agricultural Land?
This event has unfolded in Modi Nagar’s Sikri Kala area, in New Delhi. The person who has been caught for tax evading reportedly sold his land, situated near the highway and is worth crores of rupees. However, he labeled it as agricultural land in order to avoid paying tax.
On which, a notice was sent to him by the Income Tax Department to which he insisted that the land is agricultural. To get to the truth, the Income Tax Department asked the National Remote Sensing Agency (Hyderabad) for old satellite images of the land. These images revealed that a commercial complex was built on the land.
The images sent by the NRSA were used as evidence and another notice was sent to the accused, who is now liable to pay the whole amount of Rs. 15 crores. If someone evades taxes in such and similar taxes, they are levied with a 100% tax rate.
Not Even 2% of Indians Pay Income Tax
The Income Tax Department has put all its head and heart into putting a stop to tax evasions. Given the minute percentage of Indians that bother paying taxes, it is no surprise that the IT Department is looking for ways to curb tax evasions.
During the fiscal year 2015-16, only 1.7% of Indians paid their income tax on time, which roughly calculated is only 2 crore people of the entire 126 crore population in India.
The Government has come up with various laws and schemes for catching tax evaders, like ‘Income Tax Informants Reward Scheme, 2018.’ Through this scheme, anyone who reports a tax evasion to the IT Department will be rewarded with an amount up to Rs. 50 lakh.
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