BENGALURU: It was a busy day for chartered accountants all Wednesday. From housewives to businessmen, everyone wanted expert advice on what could be done with the bundles of notes stocked in their houses.
A chartered accountant, requesting anonymity, spoke of an early morning call from his relative who had recently sold his property and kept the `10 lakh at home to avoid paying taxes. “He asked me about what needs to be done now. I told him to deposit the currency in the bank and pay the charges for defaulting tax payment.”
Chartered accountant I S Prasad recalls attending to nearly 20 people through phones or in person since morning. “A few of them were from housewives who had reduced the monthly household expenses and saved a small sum of the monthly amount handed over to them for decades. Some had saved between `2 lakh and `3 lakh over a period of say 30 or 40 years,” he said. “They were worried they would not be able to convince the bank when asked about the money,” he said.
He even received a call from his cousin in the US who had `10,000 in hand, all `500 notes and did not want them to go waste. “How can I come all the way to India to deposit this money in a bank?” he asked.
CA Dharma Prasad from Bhadravathi in Shivamogga, said, “I cannot say if the money is black or white. But people wanted to know if they could invest in gold or exchange their money somewhere.”