Be an informer to Indian Income Tax department; earn up to Rs 5 crore

HIGHLIGHTS This reward scheme is aimed at encouraging people to give information about benami transactions and properties The tax department also assured full confidentiality of the informer for all the reward schemes saying that the identity of the persons giving information will not be disclosed

NEW DELHI: Sharing “specific information” with the income tax department about any benami transaction or property could earn you up to Rs one crore, while the same for undisclosed black money stashed abroad could fetch up to Rs 5 crore.

Besides, the ‘Income Tax Informants Reward Scheme’ has also been amended under which a person can get reward up to Rs 50 lakh for giving specific information about substantial evasion of tax on income or assets in India, which are actionable under the Income-tax Act, 1961. The CBDT today announced Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018, under which any person, including foreigners, can inform Joint or Additional Commissioners about benami transactions and properties which can be tried under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016.

This reward scheme is aimed at encouraging people to give information about benami transactions and properties as well as income earned on such properties by such hidden investors and beneficial owners, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said.

“Under the Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018, a person can get reward up to Rs one crore for giving specific information in prescribed manner to the Joint or Additional Commissioners of Benami Prohibition Units (BPUs) in Investigation Directorates of Income Tax Department about benami transactions and properties as well as proceeds from such properties which are actionable under Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, as amended by Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016,” it said.

The tax department also assured full confidentiality of the informer for all the reward schemes saying that the identity of the persons giving information will not be disclosed. With regard to information shared with the I-T authorities about any undisclosed black money held overseas under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, an informer could earn a reward up to Rs 5 crore. The reward amount for information under the Foreign Black money Act has been kept high at Rs 5 crore to make it “attractive to potential sources” in foreign countries, the I-T department said. “Under this Scheme, a person can get reward for giving specific information in prescribed manner about substantial tax evasion on income and assets abroad which are actionable under Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015,” it added.

In a statement, the tax department said that it was found in many cases that black money was invested in properties in the name of others, even though benefits were enjoyed by the investor concealing his beneficial ownership in his tax returns. 

The government had earlier amended Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, by Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 to make the law stronger. With the objective of obtaining people’s participation in the Income Tax Department’s efforts to unearth black money and to reduce tax evasion, a new reward scheme titled “Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018” has been issued by the Income Tax Department. Read Also: I-T department detects Rs 20,000 crore of unreported transactions

Source;-Business League

Full details of Under Income Tax Informants Reward Scheme, 2018 alongwith relevant Notification is as follows:-

F.No. 292/62/2012-IT (Inv.III)/26
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
(Central Board of Direct Taxes)
************

A.R. A. Centre (Ground Floor),
E-2; Jhandewalan Extension, New Delhi – 110055
Dated, 23.4.2018

To
All Principal Chief Commissioners of Income Tax (CCA)
All Directors General of Income Tax (Investigation)

Sir/Madam,

Sub: Income Tax Informants Rewards Scheme, 2018
Ref: Board’s letter F. No. 292/2/1998-IT (Inv. III) dated 29.11.2007

The undersigned is directed to say that the reward scheme for informants, named `Guidelines for grant of rewards to Informants, 2007′, as was issued in 2007 vide Board’s letter referred above, has been revised and “Income Tax Informants Rewards Scheme, 2018” has been issued in supersession of it with effect from date of issue. Further, guidelines containing procedure to be followed by Departmental officers for implementation of the Reward Scheme is issued separately. While the “Income Tax Informants Rewards Scheme, 2018” is for public circulation, the “Guidelines for Departmental officers” is for departmental use. Copy of the revised reward scheme is enclosed herewith.

Encl: As above

Yours Faithfully,

(Syamal Datta)
Director
Investigation – III, CBDT
Tele-Fax: 011-23547587
Email: syamal.datta@nic.in

INCOME TAX INFORMANTS REWARD SCHEME, 2018

Ready Reckoner to the Scheme

Para	Topic		Page No.
1	Introduction		4
1.1	Short Title		4
1.2	Commencement		4
1.3	Scope	.	4
1.3.1	Information already received before this Scheme		4
2	Informant for the purpose of this Scheme		4
3	Secrecy of Identity of the Informant		4
4	Procedure of furnishing information by an Informant		4
4.1.	Information to be given to JDIT (Inv)		4
4.2.	Procedure when informant goes to other Income Tax authorities		5
4.3.	Procedure for an informant who is a foreign person		5
4.4.	Procedure when multiple persons want to give information jointly		5
4.5.	Procedure when informant wants to give information in respect of a group of cases		5
4.6.	Informant will have to render assistance if required		5
4.7.	Offices from where contact details of JDsIT (Inv) will be available		5
4.8	Informant will be identified only with Informant Code after allotment of the same		5
4.9	Furnishing false information/evidence is an offence
5	Amount of reward, its basis and stages of determination		5
5.1.	Interim reward		5
5.1.1.	Interim reward for information of undisclosed foreign income/assets taxable under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015		5
5.1.2.	Interim reward for information of undisclosed income/assets taxable under the Income-tax Act, 1961		6
5.2.	Timeline for payment of interim reward		6
5.3.	Final reward		6
5.3.1.	Final reward for information of undisclosed foreign income/assets taxable under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015		6
5.3.1(i)	Amount of reward		6
5.3.1(ii)	Amount of reward when information is given under Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018 also		6
5.3.2.	Final reward for information about undisclosed income/assets taxable under the Income-tax Act, 1961		7
5.3.2(i)	Amount of reward		7
5.3.2(ii)	Amount of reward when information is given under Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018 also		7
5.3.3.	Stages of determination of final reward		7
5.3.4.	Interim reward already paid is to be deducted from final reward payable		7
5.3:5.	Timeline for final reward		7
5.4.	Modalities of payment of reward to a foreign person		7
6	Factors relevant to determination of interim or final reward	.	8
7	Authority competent to grant reward		8
8	Circumstances under which an informant is not eligible for reward		8
9	Illustrative situations where informant will not be entitled to reward for the reason of additional taxes not being directly attributable to information given		9
10	When cognizance may not be taken of information furnished by the informant		9
11	Non-disclosure of information regarding the taxpayer/assessee		9
12	Grievance redressal		10
13	Prohibition on rewarding Government servants	.	10
14.	Nature of reward and prohibition on litigation/representation		10
15.	Review in exceptional situations of grave injustice in case of final reward due to factual incorrectness or not following provisions of Reward Scheme		10
16	Assignment of reward not to be recognized		10
17	Control and audit of expenditure relating to reward		11
18	Meaning of certain terms under this Scheme		11
19	Publicity		12
	Annexure – A (Form for furnishing information and declaration)		i – iv
	Annexure – B (Details of officers from where contact details of JDsIT (Inv), to whom information is to be given, will be available)	.	v – ix

INCOME TAX INFORMANTS REWARD SCHEME, 2018

1. Introduction: In supersession of the ‘Guidelines for grant of rewards to Informants, 2007’ and other existing guidelines on the subject, the following new reward scheme is hereby introduced for regulating grant and payment of reward to a person who is an informant under this scheme. A person can get reward up to Rs. Five crore by giving specific information about evasion of Income tax on income and assets in India and abroad. Identity of the informant shall be kept confidential.

1.1. Short Title: This scheme shall be called “Income Tax Informants Reward Scheme, 2018“.

1.2. Commencement: This scheme comes into effect on the date of issue.

1.3. Scope: This scheme shall regulate the grant and payment of reward to informants in cases where information is received by a JDIT (Inv) from the informant on or after the date of issue of this Scheme that leads to detection of substantial tax evasion under the provisions of Income Tax Act, 1961 and/or the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income & Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015. This scheme shall not be applicable to information regarding recovery of irrecoverable taxes as the Central Board of Direct Taxes has issued separate Guidelines for the same vide F. No. 385/21/2015-IT (B) dated 26.8.2015.

1.3.1. However, the ‘Guidelines for grant of rewards to Informants, 2007’ shall continue to be applicable in cases where information was received before the date of issue of this Scheme.

2. Informant for the purposes of this Scheme: A person will be considered an informant for the purposes of this Scheme only if he has furnished specific information of substantial tax evasion in a written statement in the prescribed form (Annexure – A to this Scheme) and, based upon which, an Informant Code has been allotted to him by the prescribed authority. No claim for reward shall be entertained from a person who is not an informant under this Scheme, even if such person has furnished some information in any manner.

Explanation: A person cannot claim any reward under the scheme if he is not an informant under the scheme, even if such person has furnished specific information of income or assets in any other manner, e.g., through letter, e-mail, CD, WhatsApp, SMS, phone, posting in social networking site or publishing letter in newspaper or any other media.

3. Secrecy of identity of informant & information: Identity of the informant, the information given by him (including all related documents/annexures) or the reward paid to him shall not be disclosed to any person/authority except when expressly required under any law for the time being in force or by order of any court of law. The documents/annexures relating to identity and information shall remain confidential and be dealt with accordingly. After allotment of Informant Code, the person shall be identified with Informant Code only.

4. Procedure of furnishing information by Informant:

4.1. A person who wants to give information of substantial tax evasion in expectation of reward under this scheme may contact the DGIT (Inv.)/PDIT (Inv.)/JDIT (Inv.) concerned. If he appears before DGIT (Inv.)/PDIT (Inv.), they will direct him to appear before JDIT (Inv.) concerned to furnish the information in the prescribed form (Annexure-A). If the jurisdictional JDIT (Inv) considers the information prima facie actionable, the person shall have to submit the information in prescribed format in Annexure – A by appearing in person before the JDIT (Inv), when called. In case of any difficulty, the person desirous of giving specific information may contact the PDIT (Inv) of the area. The decision of PDIT (Inv) will be final in the matter of allotment of Informant Code under this Scheme.

4.2. Where a person gives information to an Income Tax Authority other than DGIT (Inv.)/ PDIT (Inv.)/JDIT (Inv.), such person should be asked to contact the DGIT (Inv.)/PDIT (Inv.)/JDIT (Inv.) concerned, and thereafter, the aforesaid procedure, as the case may be, for receiving the information is to be followed by these authorities.

4.3. Where a foreign person wants to give information of undisclosed foreign income/ assets of a person liable to tax in India, he may contact the Member (Investigation), CBDT, North Block, New Delhi-110001 either in person or by post or by a communication at email id member.inv@incometax.gov.in with a copy to citinv-cbdt@nic.in for further action.

4.4. If the information is furnished by a group of informants (more than one informant working together), the prescribed form, statements, etc. must be filled and signed by all such informants, jointly and Informant code will be allotted to each of them separately. The reward payable in such cases shall be disbursed in equal proportion, unless specified otherwise by such informants at the time of furnishing information in the prescribed form (Annexure-A).

4.5. If an informant furnishes information in respect of more than one group of cases, the prescribed form at Annexure-A shall be filled and signed separately for each such group. However, in such a situation the Informant Code for such informant shall remain one and the same.

4.6. The informant shall be liable to render assistance as may be required by the JDIT (Inv.) or any other investigating officer to whom the JDIT (Inv.) concerned may assign the investigation in the matter of information given by the informant.

4.7. JDsIT (Inv) are presently posted at Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Hubballi, Panaji, Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Raipur, Chandigarh, Mohali, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Vizag, Vijayawada, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkata, Guwahati, Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Varanasi, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Dehradun, Mumbai, Delhi, Patna, Pune, Thane, Naipur and Kolhapur. Name and address of offices from where contact details of JDsIT (Inv) can be obtained are given in Annexure – B.

4.8. The informant shall be given a unique Informant Code and the person will always be identified on the basis of that Informant Code.

4.9. It should be noted that furnishing false information/evidence is an offence and a person giving false information/evidence/ statement will be liable to be prosecuted for such offence.

5. Amount of reward, its basis and stages of determination: The reward under this Scheme may be granted in two stages, namely, interim & final.

5.1. Interim reward:

5.1.1. Interim reward for information of undisclosed foreign income/assets liable under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) Act, 2015: Interim reward up to 3% of the additional taxes levied (which is directly attributable to the information furnished by him), under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets), Act, 2015, may be granted on statutory determination of undisclosed foreign asset/income following completion of assessment proceedings under sub-section (3) or (4) of section 10 of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, subject to a ceiling of the Indian Rupees 50,00,000 (Rupees Fifty Lakh or five million) to an informant for the information given at a time in a single Annexure – A form when the authority competent is satisfied that assessment made is likely to be sustained in appeal and taxes levied are likely to be recovered.

5.1.2. Interim reward for information of undisclosed income/assets liable under the Income Tax Act, 1961:

(i) Interim reward up to 1% of the additional taxes realizable, which is directly attributable to the information furnished by the informant, on the undisclosed income detected by the Investigation Directorate under the Income-tax Act, 1961, may be granted subject to a ceiling of Indian Rupees 10,00,000 (Rupees Ten Lakh or one million) to an informant for the information given at a time in a single Annexure – A form when the competent authority is satisfied that the additional taxes on the income detected are likely to be recovered.

(ii) Where specific information of unaccounted/undisclosed cash is given by informant which leads to seizure of the cash exceeding Rupees 1,00,00,000 (Rupees one crore or Ten million) as undisclosed income/asset during search & seizure action u/s 132 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the ceiling of interim reward shall be Indian Rupees 15,00,000 (Rupees Fifteen Lakh or One and half million) even though the rate will be same at 1% as above.

5.2. Timeline for payment of interim reward: All reward granting authorities shall endeavor to pay interim reward to an informant eligible for such reward within following timeline:

(i) Within four months of completion of the relevant assessments under sub­section (3) or (4) of Section 10 of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, in cases where information of undisclosed foreign income/assets is given;

(ii) Within four months of forwarding of final investigation report by the Investigation Directorate concerned to the Assessing Officer in cases where information of undisclosed income/assets liable under the Income-tax Act, 1961, is given.

5.3. Final reward:

5.3.1. Final reward for information of undisclosed foreign income/assets liable under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) Act, 2015:

(i) The maximum amount of reward payable to an informant who has furnished information about undisclosed foreign income or assets of a person liable to tax in India under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, shall not exceed 10% of the additional taxes levied and realized under the said Act, which are directly attributable to the information furnished by him, subject to a ceiling of Indian Rupees 5,00,00,000 (Rupees Five Crore or Fifty million ), after the assessment has become final on the issues relevant for determination of reward by appeals, revision, rectification etc.

(ii) If the informant has claimed reward for giving information of evasion of tax payable under Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, as well as benami properties based upon substantially the same facts and has been found eligible for grant of reward under the Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018 as also the Income Tax Informants Reward Scheme, 2018, the total amount of reward under both the schemes taken together shall not exceed Rupees 5,00,00,000 (Rupees Five crore or Fifty million).

5.3.2. Final reward for information of undisclosed income/assets liable under the Income Tax Act, 1961:

(i) The maximum amount of reward payable to an informant shall not exceed 5% of the additional taxes levied and realized, which are directly attributable to the information furnished by him, under the Income-tax Act, 1961, subject to a ceiling of Indian Rupees 50,00,000 (Rupees Fifty Lakh or Five million) after the assessment has become final on the issues relevant for determination of reward by appeals, revision etc.

(ii) If the informant has claimed reward for giving information of evasion of tax payable under Income Tax Act, 1961, as well as benami properties based upon substantially the same facts and has been found eligible for grant of reward under the Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018 as also the Income Tax Informants Reward Scheme, 2018, the total amount of reward under both the schemes taken together shall not exceed Rupees 1,00,00,000 (Rupees one crore or Ten million).

5.3.3. Stages of determination of final reward:

The final reward for information of undisclosed foreign income/assets liable under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets), 2015 or for information of undisclosed income/assets liable under the Income Tax Act, 1961 shall be processed on realization of additional taxes directly attributable to the information given by the informant. Such processing may be initiated at different stages which may include the following:

(a) Where relevant assessments/appeals have attained finality, i.e., against which no appeal/ further appeal/ revision/ rectification etc. is pending or a period of 12 (twelve) months has elapsed from the statutory time limit for filing such appeal/revision/rectification etc., or

(b) Where relevant case(s) is/are settled by the ITSC by way of order u/s 245D(4) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and such order has attained finality, i.e., against which no litigation/ rectification etc. is pending and a period of 12 (twelve) months has elapsed from the date of such order of ITSC; or

(c) Where the relevant case(s) are under litigation on certain issues but the informant requests for grant of final reward based upon the undisputed additional taxes realized directly attributable to the information furnished by him, till the date of his request and gives an unconditional written undertaking signed in the presence of the JDIT (Inv.) concerned that he will have no further claim of reward in the relevant group of cases.

5.3.4. The amount of interim reward, if any, already paid shall be reduced while granting final reward.

5.3.5. Timeline for final reward: All reward granting authorities shall endeavor to pay final reward to an informant eligible for such reward, within six months of fulfillment of the conditions mentioned in this scheme.

5.4. Modalities of payment of reward to an Informant who is a foreign person: The reward granted to a foreign person, who is an informant, may be paid by regular banking channel as per guidelines issued by Reserve Bank of India (otherwise than cash), to his bank account in India or abroad, as requested in writing by the Informant, in Indian Rupees or its equivalent US Dollar at the exchange rate prevailing at the time of actual payment of reward. Commission or charges for payment in US Dollar shall be deducted from the gross reward amount granted.

6. Authority competent to grant reward:

(i) The authority competent to grant interim reward shall be a Committee consisting of the concerned (i) DGIT (Inv.), (ii) PDIT (Inv.) & (iii) JDIT (Inv.). The JDIT (Inv.) concerned shall also act as Secretary of the Committee. Formal sanction order for payment of reward shall be issued by the PDIT (Inv.) concerned.

(ii) The authority competent to grant final reward shall be a Committee consisting of the concerned: (i) DGIT (Inv.), (ii) PDIT (Inv.); (iii) PCIT & (iv) JDIT (Inv.). The JDIT (Inv.) concerned shall also act as Secretary of the Committee. Formal sanction order for payment of reward shall be issued by the PDIT (Inv.) concerned. The PCIT here refers to the PCIT under whose charge the cases relevant for determination of reward are assessed to tax pursuant to receipt of the report from the Investigation Directorate. Where the cases relevant for determination of reward are assessed across many PCIT charges, the PCIT for the purpose of the Committee shall be the PCIT of whose charge the assessed cases contribute to the maximum amount of relevant additional taxes. However, inputs of all other PCsIT will be taken and considered by the Committee before grant of reward.

(iii) In case of any difficulty in deciding the composition of the Committee, the DGIT (Inv.) concerned may refer the matter to the Member (Investigation), CBDT and form the Committee in consultation with him.

7. Factors relevant for determination of interim or final reward: The following factors may be considered for grant and payment of interim or final reward:

(i) Fulfillment of conditions for grant of interim or final reward, as the case may be, mentioned in this scheme.

(ii) Accuracy and precision of the information furnished by the informant.

(iii)Extent of usefulness of information including supporting documents etc. provided by the informant.

(iv)Extent and nature of assistance rendered by the informant in detection of undisclosed income/asset.

(v) In case of fmal reward, the amount of additional taxes levied and realised on the undisclosed income/asset detected, which is directly attributable to the information received from informant.

(vi)Risk and trouble undertaken and expenses incurred by the informant in securing and furnishing the information

8. Circumstances under which an informant will not be eligible to get any reward: No reward shall be granted to an informant under certain circumstances which may include the following:

(i) Where the information is not provided in accordance with the Scheme

(ii) If terms and conditions of the scheme are not fulfilled; or

(iii)Where the information given is not of substantial tax evasion; or

(iv) W here the information given is vague/non-specific and/or of general nature; or

(v) Where the information given is already available with the Income Tax Department; or

(vi) Where the information is not received directly from the informant but through any organization other than Income Tax Department; or

(vii) Where additional taxes on the undisclosed income detected are not directly attributable to the information given by the informant; or

(viii) Where Income Tax Department has evidence that the information given by the Informant has been shared by him or any other person authorized by him, with any other entity/agency including media; or

(ix)In respect of incidental or collateral benefit which may arise to revenue in any other case as a result of the information furnished by the informant.

9. Illustrative situations where Informant will not be entitled for reward:

(i) In a case where an informant has furnished information pertaining to modus operandi only without any specific information regarding parties involved /assets generated /transactions entered, etc. and pursuant to such information, investigation conducted by Investigation Directorate leads to detection of undisclosed income, the informant will not be eligible for any reward for the information even if the modus operandi is found to be correct.

(ii) In a case where an informant has furnished specific information pertaining to bogus expenses/purchase or modus operandi or income or assets, etc. in respect of some persons and pursuant to such information, investigation conducted by Investigation Directorate leads to detection of bogus expense/purchase or modus operandi or income or assets etc. in respect of additional persons also, the informant will not be eligible for any reward in respect of the bogus expense/purchase or modus operandi or income or assets etc. of the additional persons, irrespective of the fact that the informant had explained the modus operandi etc.

(iii)In a case where search & seizure has been conducted and additional taxes have been levied and realized but such additional taxes are not directly attributable to the information provided by the Informant.

(iv)In a case where an informant has furnished specific information pertaining to undisclosed assets and pursuant to such information, investigation conducted by Investigation Directorate does not lead to detection of the undisclosed assets in respect of which the information was furnished, the informant will not be eligible for any reward even if any other undisclosed asset was detected in the investigation and the informant had explained the modus operandi.

(v) In a case where an informant has furnished specific information pertaining to some undisclosed assets and pursuant to such information, investigation conducted by Investigation Directorate leads to detection of some undisclosed assets in addition to those informed by him, the informant will not be eligible for any reward in respect of the additional undisclosed assets detected, even if the informant had explained the modus operandi.

10. Not taking cognizance of information furnished by the informant: In case it is found that the antecedents of the informant, nature of the information furnished by him in past and his conduct justify not taking cognizance of the information furnished by him, the matter shall be referred by the JDIT (Inv) to the PDIT (Inv) concerned and, if approved by the PDIT (Inv), it would be open to the JDIT (Inv) to ignore the information furnished by the informant.

11. Non-disclosure of information regarding the taxpayer/assessee: The Central Board of Direct Taxes or the Income Tax Department does not provide feedback and/or update on the information received or subsequent actions taken thereon. Disclosure of information regarding specific taxpayers is prohibited except as provided under Section 138 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and under Section 84 of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, read with Section 138 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Directorates General of Income Tax (Investigation) are exempt from providing information under Section 24 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 read with Second Schedule thereof.

12. Grievance redressal: In case of any grievance the informant may contact the PDIT (Inv) concerned who shall take necessary steps to redress the grievance expeditiously.

13. Prohibition on rewarding Government Servants: No reward shall be granted under this scheme to any Government Servant, who furnishes information or evidence obtained by him in the course of normal duties as a Government Servant. A person employed by the Central Government or State Government or Union Territory Government or a nationalized bank or local authority or public sector undertaking, corporation, body corporate or establishment, set up or owned by the Central Government or State Government or Union Territory Government shall be deemed to be a Government Servant for the purpose of this Scheme.

14. Nature of reward and prohibition on litigation/representation: Reward in accordance with this scheme shall be ex-gratia payment, which subject to this scheme, may be granted in the absolute discretion of the authority competent to grant reward. The decision of the authority shall be final and it shall not be subject to any litigation, appeal, adjudication and arbitration except review as provided below in this Scheme.

15. Review in exceptional situations of grave injustice in case of final reward due to not following provisions of Reward Scheme or factual incorrectness: In case an informant alleges grave injustice in the decision of the competent authority for final reward due to either non-adherence to the Reward Scheme issued by the Board or due to factual incorrectness, he may file a review petition within one month of receipt of the decision, before the DGIT (Inv). In such petition he has to clearly bring out the basis of the alleged grave injustice with specific reference to the provisions of the Reward Scheme which have not been followed by the reward committee or instances of factual incorrectness. No cognizance will be taken of a review petition if it is not mentioned as to which provision of Reward Scheme was not followed or instances of factual incorrectness and if the same is not explained clearly. The DGIT (Inv) shall cause such a petition to be placed before a review committee consisting of (i) the Principal CCIT (CCA) of the region where the reward committee was located, (ii) a CCIT nominated by the Principal CCIT (CCA) and the (iii) the DGIT (Inv) concerned. In case there is no CCIT in the region, the Principal CCIT may nominate a Principal CIT in the review committee. The review committee shall examine such grievance, take necessary action and communicate decision to the informant preferably within 3 months of receipt. 16. Assignment of reward not to be recognized: Since the reward under this scheme is in the nature of an ex-gratia payment, no assignment thereof made by the informant will be recognized. The authority competent to grant reward may, however, grant reward to the legal heirs or nominees of an informant, who has passed away. But the provisions of the Scheme shall apply to the heir as would have applied had the informant not died. For this purpose, the informant shall specify nominee at the time of furnishing the information. If there are more than one legal heirs or nominees, the reward amount shall be distributed in equal share unless indicated otherwise in Annexure – A or the right is relinquished by any or more of the legal heirs.

17.’ Control and audit of expenditure relating to reward: Control and audit of the expenditure incurred on payment of reward will be governed by the instructions specifically issued by the Government for the purpose from time to time.

18. Meaning of certain terms in this scheme:

(i) ‘Additional taxes’ means Income-tax and surcharge, if any, which is directly attributable to the information given by the informant. It, however, does not include interest, cess, penalty and any other levy/fee imposed or imposable under the Income-tax Act, 1961 and/or the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.

(ii) ‘Additional taxes realizable’ means Income-tax and surcharge, if any, which is payable on the amount of income directly attributable to the information given by the informant out of total additional income detected as per Appraisal Report or final survey report or other final investigation report by the Investigation Directorate, over and above income disclosed in the return, if any, filed by the assessee

(iii) “Authority competent to grant interim reward” shall mean a committee consisting of the concerned DGIT (Inv), PDIT (Inv) and JDIT (Inv)

(iv) “Authority competent to grant final reward” shall mean a committee consisting of the concerned DGIT (Inv), PDIT (Inv), PCIT and JDIT (Inv)

(v) CBDT means Central Board of Direct Taxes

(vi) ‘Concerned‘ in respect of JDIT (Inv.) means JDIT (Inv) of Investigation Unit receiving information from an Informant and in respect of DGIT (Inv.)/PDIT (Inv.) means the DGIT (Inv.)/ PDIT (Inv.) in supervision of JDIT (Inv.) concerned.

(vii) DDIT (Inv.) means Deputy Director of Income Tax (Investigation) and includes Assistant Director of Income Tax (Investigation)

(viii) DGIT (Inv.) means Director General of Income Tax (Investigation)

(ix) ‘Foreign person’ means an individual or a group of individuals residing outside India.

(x) ‘Group of cases’ means cases in which the information given by the Informant are linked in a material way with each other with reference to the information given and/or investigation conducted.

(xi) ‘Information’ includes material in any form, such as records, documents, e-mails, data held in any electronic form and photographs which are relevant for detection of undisclosed income under Income-tax Act, 1961 and/or Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, provided either in person or by email or letter in accordance with this scheme.

Explanation-1: Information given in any other manner, e.g., WhatsApp or SMS or phone or post on social networking site or publishing letter in newspaper or any other media, etc. shall not be treated as information.

Explanation-2: In a case where information is received in instalments, the informant shall furnish information in Annexure-A separately and his entitlement for reward shall be computed with reference to the additional tax realized or realizable which is directly attributable to the information provided in each Annexure – A.

(xii) `Investigation conducted by Investigation Directorate’ includes search & seizure u/s 132, survey u/s 133A, enquiry u/s 131 and enquiry u/s 133(6) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

(xiii) ITSC means Income Tax Settlement Commission

(xiv) JDIT (Inv.) means Joint Director of Income Tax (Investigation) and includes Additional Director of Income Tax (Investigation)

(xw) PCIT means Principal Commissioner of Income Tax and includes Commissioner of Income Tax

(xvi)PDIT (Inv.) means Principal Director of Income Tax (Investigation) and
includes Director of Income Tax (Investigation)

(xvii) ‘Substantial tax evasion’ means evasion of taxes of not less than Rupees 5,00,00,000 (Rupees Five crore or Fifty million) of undisclosed income detected by Investigation Directorates of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune or Bangalore and not less than Rupees 1,00,00,000 (Rupees One crore or Ten million) of undisclosed income detected by other Investigation Directorates. If relevant cases are spread across more than one Investigation Directorate, substantial tax evasion means evasion of taxes of not less than Rupees 5,00,00,000 (Rupees Five crore or Fifty million) in aggregate in such cases on undisclosed income detected by Investigation Directorates concerned.

(xviii) ‘Undisclosed Income detected by Investigation Directorate’ means undisclosed income detected on the basis of credible evidence gathered as a result of investigation conducted by the Investigation Directorate, which may lead to sustainable additions/ disallowances having good prospect of recovery of taxes and/or filing of prosecution complaints under Income-tax Act, 1961 and/or Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, and which is reported by Investigating Officer along with supporting evidence in Appraisal Report in case of a search or Final Survey Report in case of survey or final investigation report in case of investigation of any other nature.

19. Publicity: This scheme will be given wide publicity. It will be available from Income

Tax offices and also from the website of Income Tax Department
www.incometaxindia.gov.in

End: Annexure – A and B

(Syama Datta)
Director
Investigation – III, CBDT
Tele-Fax: 011-23547587
Email: syamal.datta@nic.in