Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday made it amply clear that the window to disclose unaccounted wealth will not be extended beyond the four month period, ending on September 30."(We) will not extend compliance. This is a last chance for people to declare their unaccounted income. Government will run it as a mission. Later whoever will come under the purview of the law, will have to bear consequences,” Jaitley told reporters after meeting representatives of trade and industry and professional bodies like the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Delhi Tax Bar, etc. to discuss the compliance window.
The one-time compliance window - Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) 2016 - opened from June 1 till September 30, as mentioned earlier by the finance minister in the Union Budget.Jaitley said that suggestions were taken from all business chambers, industry associations, professional bodies. “Various suggestions came in. One of the ideas is to hold meetings with assessees and professionals, particularly tax consultants, CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) officials and ministers of the government to educate the people on the scheme, so that maximum number can avail of it,” he said.Another suggestion was the facility of tax to be paid in instalments, he added.
Jaitley however emphasised that IDS 2016 was not an immunity as the people, who fall under the category, will need to pay a penalty. "This is not immunity scheme, there is a tax penalty. We are expecting that all those who have such unaccounted income, will bring it in the purview of law. Any declaration made under this law is protected. The information will not be made public and will not be shared with any other authority," he said.CBDT on Monday had issued a fresh set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the disclosure window.