compulsory disclosure of bank accounts

April 2015

may impose penalty

CBDT has vide Notification No. 41/2015, Dated-15th day of April 2015 Notified  ITR-1 ITR-2 ITR-4S ITR-V for A.Y. 2015-16 with several Changes.

In such ITRs CBDT has for the first time required an assessee to Compulsorily provide details of all Bank account held in India (including in joint names) at any time during the financial year 2014-15 including details of those which were closed during the year.

Assessee has to provide the following details:–

• Number of bank accounts held by you at any time (including opened/closed) during the previous year– In case of Paper Returns if No. of accounts are more than two you attach a separate sheet providing details of all such accounts.
• IFS Code of the Bank –
• Name of the Bank –
• Name of the Joint holder(s), if any – In Our opinion, you have to give details of all bank account jointly held in India by you even if you are not the first Joint Account older in the account.
• Account Number
• Account balance as on 31 st March of the previous year– In case the account is closed during the
  year, in the column for account balance as on 31st March mention “closed”.

So as the saying goes "It is not a crime to steal but to get caught."
 
You can be liable for penalty as well as prosecution in case your omission is detected as the omission amounts to misstatement and in case any income is also not disclosed this will be a case of concealment of income.

With the computerizations and increased use of technology, you can rest assured that it will not be difficult for income tax department to detect such omissions.

Adding on, when you have declared all incomes and paid all the taxes. In such cases, I do not think that there would be any penal action.