Further tightening the noose on tax evaders, the Income Tax Department has revealed that an additional 67.54 lakh potential non-filers in the assessment year 2015-16 had been identified.

The analysis carried out by the Non-filers Monitoring System (NMS) has  identified people who have carried out high value transactions in the financial year 2014-15 but did not file return of income for the relevant assessment year i.e. A.Y 2015-16.

The CBDT said that information relating to the identified non-filers was made available in the ‘Compliance Module’ on the e-filing portal of the Income Tax Department.

Specific PAN holders can access the information by logging into the e-filing portal at https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. The PAN holder will be able to respond electronically and retain a copy of the submitted response for record purpose.

The IT department identified the potential non-filers by conducting its fifth cycle of data matching and puts out clearly that the government intended to pursue non-filers vigorously to ensure compliance.

‘While the Government urges all tax payers to disclose their true income and pay taxes accordingly, the department would continue to pursue the non-filers vigorously till all the high potential non-filers are covered,’ it stated.

The NMS was rolled out for identification of non-filers with potential tax liabilities. Data analytics carried out by the Systems Directorate of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) identifies non-filers about whom specific information is available in the AIR, CIB and TDS/TCS databases.

This article has been made possible because of financial support from Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation.