ST to be subjected to IT probe: Agarwal

***BJP national spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal being welcomed by state BJP members in Shillong on Friday***

By Our Reporter

SHILLONG, DEC 10: With instances of bank accounts being misused by hoarders to convert black money into white, especially in north eastern region, Scheduled Tribes who otherwise are exempted from the purview of income tax will now be subjected to an IT investigation if there is any abnormal deposits into anyone’s account.

Under Section 10 (26) of the Income Tax Act, a member of a Scheduled Tribe residing in any area specified in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution – which covers autonomous administrative areas, is exempted from paying tax on any income that accrues from any source in the concerned area or state.

There have been instances in Meghalaya, especially in Garo hills, when militant outfits tried to deposit their ill-gotten money by trying to use unsuspecting villagers to open their account and deposit the money. Police and banks have also alerted gullible villagers not to allow anybody to either use or create a bank account to deposit someone else money.

One of the BJP’s architect who drafted the plan against black money hoarders and national spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal, who is in Shillong, revealed investigation can be carried out without informing the bank account holder if there is abnormal deposit into anyone’s account.

Agarwal told a news conference, “Investigation can be done once there are alerts that come from the systematic analysis to the government or banking sector.”

Agarwal informed that the central government is aware of the pitfalls of trying to root out black money through demonetization as there are instances where black money hoarders tries to convert their illegal wealth by using someone else account.

He said, “However the government is committed to control these things and, therefore, the Prime Minister had personally requested people not to deposit others money into their account as that will be illegal.”

On the apprehension that black money holders may take shelter under Section 10 (26) of the Income Tax Act, Agarwal informed that the Benami Property Act was passed by the Centre on November 1, which covers the third party apart from the actual beneficiary.

“Under this Act, if anybody is holding property of which he is not real owner then he can be caught and property can be confiscated,” he warned.