New Delhi:
When there is a law in place, it has to be enforced, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday while expressing concern over the unsatisfactory implementation of provisions of the Finance Act 2017 which capped the limit of cash transactions to Rs two lakh.
Issuing a slew of directions, the top court directed that whenever such a suit is received, the courts must intimate the same to the jurisdictional Income Tax authority which shall take appropriate steps by following the due process in law.
The government banned cash transactions of Rs 2 lakh or more from April 1, 2017, through the Finance Act 2017.
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan was hearing a plea relating to the ownership of a property in which it was claimed that Rs 75 lakh was paid by cash on April 10, 2018, as an advance payment.
The top court said the litigation not only creates suspicion about the transaction but also displays a violation of the law.
Taking note of the situation, the top court directed that whenever a suit is filed with a claim that Rs two lakh and above is paid by cash towards any transaction, the courts must intimate the same to the jurisdictional Income Tax Department to verify the transaction and the violation of Section 269ST of the Income Tax Act.
“Though the amendment has come into effect from April 1, 2017, we find from the present litigation that the same has not brought the desired change. When there is a law in place, the same has to be enforced.
“Most times, such transactions go unnoticed or not brought to the knowledge of the income tax authorities. It is settled position that ignorance in fact is excusable but not the ignorance in law,” the bench said.
The top court said that section 269ST of the Income Tax Act was introduced to curb black money by digitalising transactions above Rs two lakh and contemplating an equal amount of penalty under Section 271DA of the Act.
“The Central Government thought it fit to cap the cash transactions and move forward towards digital economy to curb the dark economy which has a drastic effect on the economy of the country. It will be useful to refer to the Budget Speech during the introduction of the Finance Bill, 2017…
“However, when the Bill was passed, the permissible limit was capped under Rupees two lakh, instead of the proposed Rupees three lakh. When a suit is filed claiming Rs.75,00,000/- paid by cash, not only does it create suspicion on the transaction, but also displays a violation of law,” the bench said.
The top court directed that whenever any such information is received either from the court or otherwise, the Jurisdictional Income Tax authority shall take appropriate steps by following the due process in law.
“Whenever a sum of Rs two lakh and above is claimed to be paid by cash towards consideration for the conveyance of any immovable property in a document presented for registration, the jurisdictional Sub-Registrar shall intimate the same to the jurisdictional Income Tax Authority who shall follow the due process in law before taking any action.
“Whenever it comes to the knowledge of any Income Tax Authority that a sum of Rs two lakh or above has been paid by way of consideration in any transaction relating to any immovable property from any other source or during the course of search or assessment proceedings, the failure of the registering authority shall be brought to the knowledge of the Chief Secretary of the State/UT for initiating appropriate disciplinary action against such officer who failed to intimate the transactions,” the bench said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
