People With Black Money Fear Modi Government, Says Amit Shah

New Delhi: National president of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Amit Shah on Saturday said people with black money "fear" the Modi government, which has unearthed undisclosed assets worth over Rs 1.37 lakh crore.

A "record" 99 lakh new PAN cards have also been made in the last one year, he noted.

The government's multi-pronged strategy to curb black money has been successful, he said in an interaction with PTI, and cited a slew of measures to underline its seriousness.

The implementation of the Benami Transactions Act to curb creation of illegal assets and find existing ones and review of various international tax information exchange treaties are a step in this direction, he said.

"They (companies) will have to pay taxes in this country.

We cannot allow that (non-payment).We have taken action against and conducted strikes against shell companies which generate black money.

"Undisclosed income to the tune of Rs 1.37 lakh crore has been unearthed by the Income Tax Department in the last three years and assets worth Rs 14,800 crore has been seized by the Enforcement Directorate," he said.

And in one year time, Shah added, 99 lakh new PAN cards have been made in the country and this is the highest since Independence.

"This shows that there is a fear of the government (in the minds of the black money generators)," he said.

Shah said the fight against black money is multi-pronged.

It has four-five parts or factors that includes bringing back the funds that have illegally gone out of the country, plugging the generation of such stash funds and blocking the illegal and legal routes to route these funds, he said.

"We have ended and re-worked our tax treaties (like the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement) with countries like Cyprus, Mauritius and Singapore saying taxes should be paid in this country. We have signed many fresh agreements with other nations in order to obtain information in such (black money) instances and create a bridge in this regard," Shah said.

The creation of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money was also a step in this direction but is not in "our control and is monitored by the Supreme Court," he added.