Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that his administration had identified numerous shell corporations evading taxes after demonetisation and that they had already cancelled registrations of more than 3 lakh other firms.
"Government has cancelled registration of over 1 lakh companies in a single stroke and more than 37,000 shell firms have been identified for strong action," said Modi at an event of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in India.
The government is committed to taking even tougher action against those helping hide black money and it is not concerned about political implications of such strong moves, said Modi, a day after launching India's landmark Goods and Services Tax regime.
Modi also said accountants should pledge to bring people in the tax net rather than boasting about the number of clients they have helped evade taxes. Along with Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Initiative), the government is also cleaning India's economy, he asserted.
In a strong message to the chartered accountants community, the prime minister asked as to why action has only been taken against just few of them for irregularities, while more than 1,400 cases have been pending for many years.
He added that it is a bitter truth that only 32 lakh Indians have declared over Rs 10 lakh income, despite crores of them being in high-end professions. Giving details of action taken post demonetisation, he said data mining shows that over 3 lakh registered companies indulged in suspected dealings.
Modi also encouraged accountants to warn any people they know with black money of the consequences. He said the impact of the government's steps on checking black money is clear from the latest figures of Swiss banks, which show that Indian money parked there has dipped to a record low.
Surprisingly, the amount had risen sharply in 2013, Modi said, referring to a period when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime was in power.
People with black money will face more difficulties when Switzerland begins automatic information exchange in two years, he added. Modi said chartered accountants have a big responsibility in safeguarding the society's economic health.
Your signature is more powerful than that of the Prime Minister and the government also believes the accounts signed by you.Prime Minister Narendra Modi (ICAI Event)
He exhorted them to take charge of bringing their clients to the path of honesty and said a wrong audit can impact lives of gullible investors as people take investment decisions on the basis of their audit reports.
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