NEW DELHI: The income tax department is scrutinizing cash transactions exceeding Rs 2 lakh in property deals, especially in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, particularly in areas adjacent to Nepal. Numerous violations have been identified, and sub-registrars have failed to provide the necessary data.
This nationwide initiative, following a Supreme Court directive from April, led tax officials to discover instances where entire transactions were conducted in cash.
Tax authorities are baffled by the inaccurate reporting from sub-registrars in Bihar and UP. The department has escalated this issue to senior officials in both states, urging them to instruct sub-registrars to share information and adhere to proper procedures when registering properties. Notably, soon after the Supreme Court’s ruling, the tax department contacted the registration directorate in these states.
While sub-registrars received orders to disclose information, recent verifications revealed extensive misreporting over the past three financial years. Spot checks in districts like Kishanganj, Sitamarhi, Araria, and Madhubani in Bihar uncovered 250-300 instances where cash transactions over Rs 2 lakh were not reported.
Furthermore, sub-registrars neglected to report property transactions exceeding Rs 30 lakh, as required by law. One specific sub-registrar office in Bihar alone failed to report 600 transactions involving property deeds worth over Rs 250 crore over three years, and did not capture or relay PAN details.
The situation is not as severe in UP, where officials have conducted spot verifications in districts like Maharajganj and Pilibhit. However, a significant number of flawed entries were still noted, with cash transactions exceeding Rs 2 lakh being observed, albeit on a lesser scale.
In recent years, the tax department has intensified efforts to control cash transactions, particularly in high-value deals, and is gathering extensive data to identify and penalize lawbreakers involved in black money operations.
