Illegal Cash At Home? You Could Land In Trouble With IT Department

New Delhi: Keeping cash in at home, especially that which is unaccounted for, can land you in trouble. Although there is no legal requirement to disclose the whereabouts of your cash to any authorities, you should be aware of the source of your cash. You must possess the relevant documentation, which shows the source through which you have acquired the money. These documents will be required if the IT department conducts a raid and discovers a significant amount of cash in your home, News18 reports. Black money hoarders may be subject to taxes and penalties of up to 137 per cent of the cash discovered if they fail to explain the source of their income during a raid, as warned by the Income Tax (IT) department earlier.

If the cash you have kept in your home is taxable, you must have already paid taxes on it. You can get into grave trouble if you do not have all the necessary documentation of your cash sources and paid taxes. In such a scenario, you may be questioned by the ED and CBI, in addition to the IT department. But if you have the correct documents, you don’t need to be concerned, the report adds.

What if there’s any discrepancy in your data?

In line with the Income Tax Act, you are required to pay a penalty equal to 137 per cent of the cash discovered in your residence. The tax rate will be 107.25 per cent, if undisclosed money is confessed during a search, taxes are paid, a return is filed or the person substantiates how the money was earned.