Switzerland likely to share HSBC accounts data in 10 days: Goyal
New Delhi, Aug 7: Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that Swiss government is likely to share the HSBC accounts data in about 10 days, after the Supreme Court of Switzerland ordered it to share data with India.
"The Supreme Court of Switzerland has ordered the Swiss government to share with us the data. In about a week or 10 days, that is going to get formalised," Goyal informed the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour.
He said that HSBC list was released somewhere in the year 2010-11, and from 2011-12 till 2014, the government kept trying to make an effort but was stalled by the Swiss government from getting any information on the ground that this is a secret information.
"It is only after this government came in that we sent our Revenue Secretary to Switzerland. We had high-level discussions with the government of Switzerland and a joint statement was issued in October 2014, in which both sides agreed that they will share information with each other and since then we have started getting information on the HSBC accounts from Switzerland," he said.
Responding to supplementaries, he said with regard to HSBC, the already undisclosed income of Rs 8,448 crore has been brought to tax.
"The tax demand of Rs 5,447 crore has been raised and a penalty of Rs 1,290 crore levied in 164 cases so far. 199 prosecution complaints have been filed in 84 cases," he said.
On Panama Papers, he said, it contains details of 426 persons. "Investigations are going on in all the cases. So far, 62 invasive actions have been conducted which included search, seizure action in 50 cases and survey action in 12 cases."
Goyal said that criminal prosecution complaints have been filed in 16 cases and in 33 cases, notices under Section 10 of the Black Money Act have been issued.
"As an outcome of these investigations so far, undisclosed foreign investments to the tune of Rs 1,542.88 crore has been detected ... and the investigations continue," he said.
The Minister said that it was only under this government that the people have started increasingly filing their returns.
"The number of tax filers has increased by over 50 per cent in the last four years and the quantum of income-tax collected has also increased by about 75 per cent in the last four years. It has also stopped the leakages that were happening previously," he said.
He said the Modi government has given almost Rs 4 lakh crore to the poor in their bank accounts through direct benefit transfer.
The Minister refuted that the IMF has reduced India's growth projections and said that the country is slated to grow at a robust 7.3 per cent this year, 7.5 per cent next year and it will continue to be the world's fastest growing large economy in the world for the next two years.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bengal: Over 55 pc turnout till 1 pm in repoll in 15 booths of 2 assembly seats
Kolkata (PTI): Over 55 per cent turnout was recorded till 1 pm in repoll in 15 booths of two assembly constituencies in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Saturday, an official said.
Voting was underway more or less peacefully at 11 polling stations of Magrahat Paschim assembly constituency and four in Diamond Harbour, where the EC ordered repoll a day ago, following reports of electoral malpractices.
However, at booth number 179 at Chanda Primary School of Diamond Harbour seat, the Trinamool Congress alleged that a specially abled voter and his mother were harassed by central forces. The alleged incident sparked protests by party workers and locals.
The TMC claimed that the voter's mother, who had entered the booth to assist him, and her son were detained for a considerable time by central forces over alleged rule violations.
ALSO READ: Man arrested for duping Delhi resident of Rs 2 lakh in online car sale fraud
"TMC leaders Manmohini Biswas and Pratik Ur Rahman reached the spot and led the protests, with residents terming the action unwarranted harassment. The matter has been taken care of by our officials there," an official of the poll body said.
Polling was otherwise peaceful across 15 booths in the area, he added.
Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, the official said, adding that till 1 pm, the turnout was 55.57 per cent.
Magrahat Paschim registered 56.33 per cent voter turnout, while in Diamond Harbour, it was 54.9 per cent, a poll official stated.
Voting in these two assembly constituencies was held in the second phase of the state elections on April 29.
The repoll order was based on reports received from returning officers and observers of the two constituencies and "material circumstances", the Election Commission official said.
In Magrahat Paschim, TMC's Md Samim Ahamed Molla is pitted against BJP nominee Goursundar Ghosh, while Abdul Majid Halder of the Congress and ISF candidate Abdul Aziz Al Hassan are also in the fray.
TMC candidate Panna Lal Halder is contesting against Dipak Kumar Halder of the BJP in the Diamond Harbour seat. Goutam Bhattacharya of the Congress and CPI(M)'s Samar Naiya are among other candidates.
The BJP had alleged rampant electoral malpractices in certain polling stations of both the assembly seats under the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, which is represented by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
The EC had deputed its special observer, Subrata Gupta, to fact-check the allegations from the ground.
The poll panel will decide on repolling in the Falta assembly constituency on Saturday.
The West Bengal assembly elections were held in two phases -- April 23 and April 29 -- amid unprecedented security arrangements.
Counting of votes will take place on May 4.
