Note Ban: Divide & rule' is new trick

Hyderabad: There is a rush to avail the services of chartered accountants, financial planners and wealth management advisers to minimise losses after the demonetisation of higher denomination notes, curbs on withdrawals and the I-T man watching deposits.

With a five-fold rise in their client base in the last two days, chartered accountants are flooded with calls. With the deadline to deposit Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes just 45 days away, people holding unaccounted cash, especially realtors, owners of educational institutions, hotels, bars, small businessmen and manufacturers and restaurants are seeking advice on how to get rid of stash with minimum losses.

One common advice being given by experts is to utilise the opportunity of depositing less than Rs 2.5 lakh in banks and post offices till December 30 in their own name and later in the name of others. They advice depositing Rs 2.49 lakh, which will not attract any government scrutiny.

The other advice being handed out is to divide the cash and distribute Rs 2.49 lakh each among family members and friends and seek their help in depositing the amount in their respective accounts.

With government stating that Rs 2.5 lakh made by housewives will not attract any notices or penalty, experts advise them to utilise this opportunity to the maximum possible extent with the help of their women family members and friends.

A senior chartered accountant explained, “The accounts of senior citizens and students can be utilised but the deposits have to be in lower denominations of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. It must also be kept in mind that the senior citizens have filed their income-tax returns which makes it very easy and also beneficial to retain the money.”

“I have Rs 30 lakh cash and approached a financial planner for help. He advised me to follow the ‘divide and distribute’ rule. He asked me divide the cash into three slabs with Rs 10 lakh in each slab,” a realtor told this newspaper.
He said his financial planner told him to divide first slab of Rs 10 lakh between his wife and three of her sisters at Rs 2.5 lakh each, who all have accounts with less than Rs 10,000.”

“He then asked me to take the help of friends to deposit another Rs 10 lakh. He asked me to deposit the third slab of Rs 10 lakh when the RBI gives opportunity after December deadline till March next year,” the realtor said.

Some smart businessmen were using the savings account of their maid servants, drivers and also gardners to deposit their unaccounted money and is being shown as ‘their savings’.

A person who owns a chain of educational institutions in and around city, with unaccounted cash of over Rs 5 crore approached a CA for help who advised him to take the help of his own staff, who are in hundreds, including drivers, office boys and other workers. The institution runs over 150 buses and he was told to split amounts ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 49,000 each to 150 drivers and 500 other workers. The institution also has 4,000 teaching staff for whom he was asked to deposit smaller amounts. In this way, he has covered Rs 4 crore and has Rs 1 crore, which he intends to declare.