Taxmen find Rs1k cr unreported deposits in G’chiroli Coop Bank

Nagpur: Over Rs 1,100 crore, mostly in cash, was parked in Gadchiroli District Central Cooperative Bank from time to time over a five-year span, without being reported to the income tax department. The big money found in the bank in the once Maoist-hit district came as a surprise to taxmen, who conducted multiple searches at the bank on Wednesday. The unreported amount is nearly equal to total deposits currently held in the Gadchiroli bank, said sources.The department's intelligence and criminal investigation wing is carrying out a series of searches on cooperative banks across the region, looking for deposits not reported under the statement of financial transactions (SFT). Cash deposits of Rs 50 lakh and Rs 10 lakh or more in a current account and savings bank account have to be reported through SFT. Besides, fresh deposits of Rs 10 lakh even by cheque need to be reported.
The Gadchiroli cooperative bank had cash deposits of Rs 300 crore in current accounts, which were skipped in SFT. This included cash deposits worth over Rs 50 lakh each parked in the bank's current accounts. Another unreported Rs 600 crore was found in the savings account, which included cash of Rs 10 lakh or more in the savings accounts. Taxmen also found Rs 200 crore as unreported term deposits. As scrutiny covered deposits parked in the last 5 years, a sizable amount was withdrawn too, said sources.The purpose of SFT reporting by various entities like banks, mutual funds, jewellers and even the property registrar is to cross-check income disclosed in I-T returns. In case investments or deposits are not disclosed in the tax return by the individual, it can be cross-checked through SFTs, said sources. The taxmen are carrying out a drive, checking accounts of cooperative banks across the region. So far, unreported deposits worth Rs 10,000 crore were found in around seven banks, said sources.