Black money rampant in educational bodies, real estate: Govt

New Delhi: Tax department has unearthed Rs 32,000 crore through searches in last three fiscals and found that use of black money is rampant in sectors like real estate and educational institutions, government said today.

"The data indicates that the main sectors in which black money is rampant include real estate, finance, trading, manufacturing, educational institutes and services," Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

During 2015-16, the I-T Department conducted 445 searches which discovered undisclosed income of Rs 11,066 crore. Total assets seized were Rs 712.68 crore.

Also 545 searches conducted in 2014-15 have led to admission of undisclosed income worth Rs 10,288 crore. Total assets seized amounted to Rs 761.70 crore. Besides, 569 searches in 2013-14 saw admission of undisclosed income of Rs 10,791.63 crore and asset seizure of Rs 807.84 crore.

This takes the total undisclosed income which was admitted during searches to Rs 32,146 crore. Analysis of the searches by the Income Tax department during the last three financial years indicates that the persons searched were involved in multiple activities in varied sectors, Gangwar said.

He said the government has taken several measures to effectively tackle the issue of black money. These include prohibition of acceptance of payment/advance of Rs 20,000 or more in cash, enactment of benami transaction law and mandatory quoting of PAN for transaction above Rs 2 lakh.

In reply to another question in the Lok Sabha, Gangwar said that between April and October, the Enforcement Directorate registered 109 cases under FEMA involving Hawala transactions.

During 2015-16, 138 such cases were registered under FEMA, while in 2014-15 it was 104 and in 2013-14 it was 75. "The above cases may include a few cases relating to illegal activities and terrorism also," Gangwar said.