Rampant cash transactions in business sectors like hotels, luxury brand sales, hospitals and IVF clinics need to be checked in a “non-intrusive” manner, the CBDT has asked the I-T department. The apex body for direct taxes administration in the country — the Central Board of Direct Taxes — has also asked the tax department to undertake “concerted efforts” to recover arrear demands which have been witnessing a “steep rise” since the last financial year. The CBDT recently issued an annual action plan dossier called the central action plan (CAP) 2024-25.
Senior officials told PTI that transactions over Rs 2 lakh in cash were required to be reported through a statement of financial transaction (SFT) by financial institutions but that was not happening. “While examining such reports, it is noticed that the circumvention of these provisions is widely prevalent,” the Board told the I-T department. “Further, although section 139A requires PAN (permanent account number) to be provided or obtained in specified transactions, there is no reporting/verification mechanism for determining the compliance with this obligation,” it said.
In any case, it said, “high value” consumption expenditure needs to be verified with information about the taxpayer and therefore, it is imperative to identify the sources which could be involved in possible circumvention. The department identified some of the businesses, such as hotels, banquet halls, luxury brand retailers, IVF cl.