NEW DELHI: The income tax department (I-T) is saddled with huge data, which the demonetisation process threw up. Combining such large volumes of data is no cakewalk, so the department is planning to rope in private entities to do the tedious work of matching the records with tax returns and other documents to track tax evasion.
While the Reserve Bank of India is yet to release the final numbers, estimates peg the Rs 15 lakh crore worth of junked notes found their way back to the banking system. Of these, the I-T department is learnt to be perturbed over deposits above Rs 2 lakh in about 60 lakh bank accounts, which it wants peruse.
The I-T department intends to select two managed service providers (MSP) to help in data analytics and another MSP for business process management through competitive bidding. The bidders are required to submit their bids by February 3, 2016.
The MSPs for data analytics will have to match and analyse the demonetisation data with tax returns and other documents, the tax department said.
On the other hand, the MSP for business process management will design and operationalise business processes and campaign for stakeholder engagement, improving response rates and response quality.
The data analytics MSP would design and operationalise analytical solution for collation of data received from banks, post offices and other sources for linking of information and identification of duplicate data.
They would also match and integrate the PAN-based demonetisation data with information in income tax database, such as I-T returns, TDS information, third-party reporting, tax payments, activity and response on the portal to build a comprehensive profile for the taxpayer.
“The underlying approach should have ease of use from the taxpayers’ perspective,” the I-T department added.
According to the department’s findings, Rs 3-4 lakh crore of tax-evaded income was deposited during the 50-day window provided to get rid of the old Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. Also, over Rs 25,000 crore in cash was deposited in dormant bank accounts, while nearly Rs 80,000 crore of repayment of loans was done in cash since November 8, 2016 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation.