Complaint In Income Tax Department (Helpline Guide)

The ministry of finance of India has taken several steps to reduce the time of financial proceedings and encourage the citizens to pay their taxes on time. You don’t have to run to offices with papers for the smallest of things because of the online services provided by the ministry. The Central Board of Direct taxes CBDT and the taxpayers can now receive and process complaints easily. If you want to complaint in Income tax department, use the e-portal, which has made the whole process easy to track and assess, by both the taxpayers and the concerned tax department.

You can easily file a tax evasion petition by going to the income tax India e-filing website and then under the menu, “file complaint of tax evasion/ undisclosed foreign asset/ benami property” select the relevant form and lodge your complaint.

You will be asked to enter your PAN/AADHAAR details or you can file a complaint even if you don’t have a PAN card, by getting an OTP through a registered mobile number.

To do this you don’t have to go anywhere but just pick up the phone.

Table of Contents

What are the grounds for complaint?

Any person or the complainant can file a complaint with respect to the following violations:

Violation of Income Tax Act, 1961.
Black money or undisclosed foreign Assets and income imposition of the tax act, 1961
Prevention of Benami Transactions Act.

How do I inform the Income Tax Department of a person?

There are several ways in which you can inform the Income Tax Department about a person who is involved in Tax evasion or any other suspicious activity, illegal sources of income, etc.

The Income Tax Department of India has set up help desks to take up any sort of inquiry through calls or emails. Here are the details:

Income tax e-filing Portal by CBDT:

CBDT has launched an e-portal to file complaints and encourage the participation of citizens as stakeholders in curbing tax evasion/black money/tax imposition/ any kind of violation of the income tax act, of 1961. Here is how you can lodge a complaint through this portal online:

Click on this incometaxindiaefiling.gov website.
You will be directed to the e-filing portal of the Income Tax Department.
Click on the menu labeled e-Nivaran.
A new page will open. Select the option Submit Grievance.
Enter the PAN/TAN or ADHAAR or E-mail ID to register.
A grievance form will appear in which you can enter the details of your grievances.
Submit the form.
An identification number will be generated for your grievance. You can use it to track the status of the actions taken to resolve it occasionally.

2. CPGRAMS or Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System

CPGRAMS looks into the grievances of all the departments of the government. As per the type of grievance, you can select the relevant department and lodge a complaint against them or the person in question.

However, to do so you must register on their pg. portal website.

Now, select the ministry/department as Income tax.

A form will appear, fill it out carefully and then hit, submit.

You can also download their app for easy access. You won’t have to log in every time!

3. Aaykar Sampark Kendra (ask):

It is a helpline desk to assist you with any query related to income tax. You can call their toll-free number between 8 AM to 10 PM from MON to SAT. The helpline number is 1800 180 1961.

You can call ASK and inform them about the person and even ask for the best solution for the grievances.

Illegal Income, Black Money Tax Evasion

According to the Black money undisclosed foreign income and Assets and imposition of tax act 2015 section 2; there are two definitions for undisclosed foreign assets and undisclosed income.

An asset (including financial interest in any entity) located outside India, which is in the assessee’s name or if he is a beneficial owner, and he has no explanation about the source of investment in a such asset or the explanation given by him is in the opinion of the Assessing Officer “unsatisfactory”, is termed an undisclosed asset located outside India.

The total amount of undisclosed income of an assessee from a source located outside India and the value of an undisclosed asset located outside India is termed undisclosed foreign income and assets.

The basis of tax charge is explained in section 3, which says:

A tax in respect of his total undisclosed foreign income and assets of the previous year at the rate of 30% of such undisclosed income and assets.

The tax rate will be charged to tax on its value in the previous year in which such asset comes to the notice of the Assessing Officer.

The asset will be valued as per its present market value and then the tax will be imposed on its value, for the years it remains undisclosed to the date the tax is paid.

Therefore, black money is any income which is undisclosed to the income tax department. Meaning there hasn’t been any tax paid on such income and the government is losing revenue because of it.

The economic activity generating such income can be legal or illegal. But, not disclosing it to the government and tax evasion qualifies it as, Black money.

Is black money a crime?

Yes, keeping black money is a crime. The person in possession of black money will be prosecuted under section 193 and section 228 for the purpose of section 196 of the Indian penal code 45 of 1860.

Another important point is that wilful attempts to evade tax, interest, or penalty will now be a recognized offense under PMLA, 2002 – Part C.

Jail term or Imprisonment under the BM Act

The person involved in black money or undisclosed foreign property can be prosecuted under the prosecution provisions laid under different sections of the black money act and can be jailed for not less than 3 months to 10 years plus a penalty depending upon the offense.

How can I write a complaint letter to the Income Tax Department for black money?

What is the penalty for black money?

The provisions for penalties for black money are listed under sections 41, 42, 43, 44 (1), and 45 of the Black money undisclosed foreign income and Assets and imposition of the tax act, 2015.

Penalty provisions under different sections of the Black Money Act, 2015

Section	Reason	Penalty
Section 41	If the assessment is done under section 10.	3 times the tax or 90% of the tax.
Section 42	If no income tax return was made before the end of the assessment year. If the total amount in one more foreign bank account is less than 5 lakh.	INR 10 lakhs No penalty.
Section 43	If ITR was filed but failed to disclose the foreign assets. If the total amount in one more foreign bank account is less than 5 lakh.	INR 10 lakhs No penalty.
Section 44(1)	Any assessee who is in default or deemed to be in default, in making payment of tax in 30 days.	A penalty equal to the amount of tax arrears.
Section 45	If the assessee fails to answer AO’s questions, deny signing any statement made by him during proceedings, attend or produce books of account or documents in response to summons issued under section 8.	Between INR 50,000 to INR 2 lakhs.

FAQ- Complaint In Income Tax Department

1. How do I file a complaint against an illegal income in India?

You can file a complaint against an illegal income in India through the Income tax e-filing Portal launched by CBDT. Here is how you can lodge a complaint through this portal online:

Click on the incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/.
You will be directed to the e-filing portal of the Income Tax Department.
Click on the menu labeled e-Nivaran.
A new page will open. Select the option Submit Grievance.
Enter the PAN/TAN or ADHAAR or E-mail ID to register.
A grievance form will appear in which you can enter the details of your grievances.
Submit the form.
An identification number will be generated for your grievance. You can use it to track the status of the actions taken to resolve it from time to time.

2. What happens when you file a complaint against someone in India?

After you lodge a complaint against someone the legal proceedings start. Their income and tax return history are put under scrutiny. If there is sufficient evidence in favor of the complaint, an investigation will be put forth. However, if there is not enough proof or false evidence is found, the proceedings are nullified.

Conclusion

The launch of the e-filing portal has made the whole process of lodging a complaint in Income tax department so easy. You just have to fill out the form for the specific type of grievance and click submit. You just have to sit and track the whole process online. Problems related to ITR, Assessee officer, Tax Filings, TDS, extra taxes, pension-related issues, etc all can be raised to their concerned division through an online portal.