C. RATIONALISING PENALTY AND PROSECUTION

C. RATIONALISING PENALTY AND PROSECUTION

Relaxation of conditions for prosecution under the Black Money Act

The Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 [the Black Money Act] provides for penal and prosecution measures in cases of wilful non-disclosure of foreign income and assets by residents. Sections 49 and 50 of the Black Money Act, prescribe prosecution, including rigorous imprisonment and fine, where a resident wilfully fails to furnish a return of income or wilfully omits to disclose foreign assets or income in the return of income.
In order to provide relief in cases of minor and inadvertent non-disclosures and to align the prosecution provisions with the penalty framework under the Black Money Act, it is proposed to amend sections 49 and 50 to provide that these provisions shall not apply in
respect of foreign assets, other than immovable property, where the aggregate value does not exceed twenty lakh rupees.
These amendments shall take effect retrospectively from the 1st day of October, 2024.