For inhabitants of the dreary offices of Central Board of Direct Taxes or CBDT in the North Block of the cabinet secretariat in Delhi, it was an unusual night.
Most offices in the building on top of Raisina Hill had shut down long ago. But in a section near the western wing, facing the Rashtrapati Bhavan forecourt, the lights were on and nightfall had only hastened the pace of summing up voluntary disclosures of unaccounted wealth or 'black money' made over the last four months.
Officials were in touch with the CBDT chief Rani Singh Nair and revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhiya. The two were tasked with compiling the final figure of disclosures under the ambitious income disclosure scheme, the deadline for which ended on September 30.
Even with two hours to go for the voluntary disclosure window to close, the declaration process barrelled on.
The last 24 hours were hectic but had brought a huge sense of relief for tax officials.
By the looks of it, the mission was going to be a success.
In Delhi, sources said that the final tally could touch Rs 70,000 crore - twice as much as VDIS. Since the scheme invites 45 per cent tax, the total income for the government from the scheme could be in the excess of Rs 31,500 crore.
Sources say, the final picture will be clear later, but by late evening on Friday, Hyderabad was emerging as the city with highest declarations followed by Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. The declarations of each major city ranged between Rs 14,000 crore to 4,000 crore a source said.
Rush To Declare
The government had taken pains to publicise the scheme. Publicity locations at prominent spots like airports and malls were booked. The department had generated a large data bank of those who may possess assets for which they haven't paid taxes. Based on this, nine lakh letters were sent out.
The government is keen to declare the scheme a success especially due to the ruling BJP's "war against black money" chant during Lok Sabha polls in 2014.
At the Minto Road branch of the income tax department, there were separate counters for businessmen, private salaried persons, and government employees. Over the last few days, the first section saw the maximum number of people queuing up to avail the scheme. The queues were the highest on the last day.
A senior official at a centre said, "Compared to over 4 lakh declarations in 1997, this time the figure many be higher but the number of people who walked up to the counter may even be lesser as unlike in the 1997 VDIS, this time the option of online declarations makes it easy for people to file without physically coming to a centre."
A commissioner of income tax at another centre said, "On the last day, the maximum declarants were those who had problems filing online or with their physical documentation."
For government officials battling to tame a sea of forms, even at 10 pm, there was no time for a proper dinner. Food packets with Chinese fare were laid out on work tables. Forks in hand, eating noodles, officials scrutinised forms.
At this centre, officials worked on several floors. The queue had some old ex-government officials as well even some in their twenties - busy on their smartphones waiting for their turn.
Since the disclosure scheme offers anonymity, many used proxy representatives to file their declarations.
Taking out his earphone, a young man said, "I am doing my accountants' course and I represent a client of the company I work for."
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