Expressing concern over the use of huge amounts of black money during the time of elections, Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) Vice-Chairman Justice Arijit Pasayat on Tuesday suggested for appropriate amendments in the existing tax laws to curb the use money power to win polls.
Briefing reporters after a meeting with officials from Crime Branch, Vigilance, Economic Offences Wing and officers from Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Enforcement Directorate, CBI, SEBI, Income Tax and Central Economic Intelligence Bureau here, Justice Pasayat said the agencies discussed various modalities to make the tax laws more effective.
“It has come to the notice of the SIT that nearly Rs 3,800 crore was seized across the country during the time of elections in April-May this year,” Justice Pasayat said, adding that discussions were held as to how these seizures could be treated as “predicate offences” so that the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Bureau could bring the seized amounts under the tax net.
He said the SIT, formed in 2014, has already prepared its seventh interim report to be submitted to the Supreme Court in July this year. “The new report includes several suggestions to curb the menace of black money in the country,” Justice Pasayat said, adding that the SIT is also of the opinion of having special courts in the country to deal exclusively with offences related to black money.
“About 15,000 to 16,000 such cases are still pending in different courts of the country for over 10 to 12 years now. We have recommended in our report to expedite the trial of these cases and also suggested setting of special courts to deal with the pending cases,” the SIT Vice-Chairman said, adding that proper prosecution and putting the offenders behind the bars would have a deterrent effect on generation of black money.