When a reporting lapse can turn honest taxpayers into ‘black money’ accused
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Even a small, inadvertent oversight in declaring foreign assets can trigger intense scrutiny and label honest taxpayers as holders of ‘black money’, causing financial and mental stress. A Mumbai-based professional learned this the hard way after receiving a penalty order from the tax department, which accused him of concealing foreign assets and imposed a ₹40 lakh penalty under the Black Money Act (BMA).
This senior executive at a multinational company (MNC), who did not wish to be identified, held stock options in his firm's foreign parent between 2016 and 2020. He earned no dividend or other income from these holdings, but his only lapse was failing to disclose them in the Foreign Assets (FA) Schedule of his income tax returns (ITR). In 2023, he received a summons and despite explaining that the omission was inadvertent, the assessing officer invoked the Black Money Act and imposed a penalty of ₹10 lakh for each year of non-disclosure, totalling to ₹40 lakh.
“There was no concealment of income, only a reporting failure," the executive said. “I’ve been a salaried taxpayer with nearly 20 years of clean tax records. Nothing is more humiliating than being investigated for black money." He appealed to the Commissioner of Income Tax, but the penalty was upheld.
The case is now before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT). “I’m not worried about the huge penalty. I just don’t want the ‘black money’ label attached to my name," he said.
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