If you have accounts in many banks, You need to be careful now, because you can come under the radar of the Income tax department. It is a better option that If these accounts are not in use, then close them. As per a report, the income tax department believes that if someone has opened multiple bank accounts then it can be used to convert black money to white.
No Legal Restriction on Opening Multiple Account
Experts said that there is no such law in India so far that restricts a person from opening accounts in multiple banks. But if the Income-tax department is taking interest in such matters then people having multiple accounts may face problems. The income tax department has a different way of thinking. Authorities think that if someone has opened accounts in many banks without any reason, then Is that a dummy account?. Is that account linked to any fake company? Is it helping to make black money white?
Many Incidents Have Been Reported
An Income Tax Department official says that such cases keep coming up. Some time ago in Ghaziabad, a person was caught, who had opened more than 80 accounts in a private bank and a government bank. The Income Tax Department suspected that it had turned black money worth about Rs 380 crore into white with the help of these accounts.
Read Also: IT Department Crediting Tax Refunds with Pre-validated Bank Accounts The Income tax department has crediting e-refund to those bank account which have been pre-validated on the e-filling website and also linked PAN to the same. Read more
Similarly, in demonetisation, a man in Delhi was caught in the motor parts market of Kashmiri Gate and had more than 20 bank accounts. The interesting thing is that the person did not even have any whereabouts. He used to sleep on the bed in front of a shop when the market was closed at night. But during demonetisation, he had deposited lakhs of rupees in his account.
Having Accounts in Many Cities? It is Doubtful!
According to the sources even if a person has opened several bank accounts in different cities, he is still eligible for doubt. Many years ago, when banks did not have a centralized banking system, it used to happen. At that time businessmen working in many cities used to do this because it take time to clear the check of the bank of another city. Now in the CBS system, money gets transferred before blink. Thus, Now if a person opens an account in different cities, then obviously there can be some other purpose.
Finance Ministry officials say that now the Department is receiving regular information from banks. The bank immediately informs the Income Tax Department about any person who is withdrawing or depositing large amounts of money. Not only this, the information about how many bank accounts are opened on the same PAN number Get to know the easy steps about filling Permanent Account Number (PAN) card application through online. Also know the list of mandatory documents. Read more can also be checked in one click. Thus If you have accounts in many banks, then you need to be careful now, because maybe you can come under the radar of the Income Tax Department.