Revenue Department’s Probes Are Source Of Data On Black Money, Says Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said ongoing probes of and notices to depositors of unexplained money post note ban were among the sources to collate information about black money that figured in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech.

“The revenue figures and the potential revenue gain figures were based on ongoing investigations, notices, responses (received by) the CBDT and the revenue department,” he said when asked about the figures related to recovery of black money in the prime minister's speech.

Jaitley further said the numbers mentioned were not dependent on report of the Reserve Bank of India.

Also Read: Note Ban Ensured Black Money Became Part Of Formal Economy, Says Prime Minister Modi

Stressing that there was “no confusion” in the numbers, Jaitley said the real source is “how much money is being deposited, how much of it is unexplained, how many people have deposits which are disproportionate to their sources, how many people have been given notices, what is the quantum covered by those notices, so the determination of estimated figure is on that basis”.

Modi, in his speech, said the hidden black money has been brought into the formal economy through demonetisation.

The prime minister said more than Rs 1.75 lakh crore deposited in the banks is under the scanner and blackmoney worth Rs 2 lakh crore "had to be deposited in the banks".

Over 18 lakh people have been identified, whose income is much higher than their declared income and therefore, they have to clarify this, Modi added.