New Delhi: After a sudden surge in deposits in Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana accounts, the government on Sunday again cautioned such account holders not to allow their deposits to be misused in the wake of the November 8 demonetisation move.
“Investigation being conducted by the Income Tax Department across India into the sudden surge in cash deposits in Jan Dhan accounts have revealed various inconsistencies,” a Union Finance Ministry release here said.
“Undisclosed monies of approximately Rs16.4 million deposited by persons who have never filed returns of income being below the taxable limits, into their Jan Dhan accounts have already been detected at Kolkata, Midnapore, Ara (Bihar), Kochi and Varanasi.
“Rs400,000 has been seized from one such account in Bihar,” it said
“Undisclosed income so detected will be brought to tax as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, apart from other actions depending upon the outcome of investigations,” it added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged Jan Dhan account holders to hold on to the black money deposited by elements seeking to launder ill-gotten wealth.
“I want to tell holders of Jan Dhan accounts that they should not withdraw this money. Write to me if someone intimidates you. I am trying to figure out how it [the money] can come to you,” Modi said on Saturday at a public meeting in Moradabad, in Uttar Pradesh.
More than 250 million Jan Dhan accounts for financial inclusion have been opened in the country as on November 25 last.
The big surge in deposits into Jan Dhan accounts after the demonetisation seems to be stabilising now as just Rs14.87 billion has been parked in them over 7 days to November 30, as against Rs82.83 billion in the previous week.
Deposits in the 258.5 million such accounts totalled Rs743.215 billion at the end of November 30, as per the Finance Ministry data.
The overall amount was Rs728.347 billion in 256.8 million accounts at the end of November 23.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised entire nation with demonetisation of Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes on November 8, deposits in Jan Dhan accounts have increased by Rs286.85 billion. As of November 9, the balance in about 255 million such accounts was Rs456.366 billion.
Interestingly, the percentage of zero balance account still remains flat at about 22.85 per cent despite surge in deposits.
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna was launched in August 2014 to increase banking penetration and promote financial inclusion in the country.
Such accounts have a deposit limit of Rs50,000. In order to check the misuse of Jan Dhan accounts by black money hoarders following the demonetisation, the Reserve Bank of India has restricted the withdrawal from such accounts to Rs10,000 per month.
According to RBI, fully KYC-compliant Jan Dhan account holders will be allowed to withdraw Rs10,000 per month from their account, while limited or Non-KYC compliant account holders can withdraw Rs5,000 per month.
It said however that branch managers may allow further withdrawals beyond Rs10,000 a month within the current applicable limits only after ascertaining the genuineness of such withdrawals and duly documenting the same on bank’s record.
The government suspects that black money hoarders are using farmers’ and other people’s Jan Dhan accounts to deposit their ill-gotten money so that they can safely convert that money into white.
Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is working on a formula on how to send the corrupt to jail who deposited their money in Jan Dhan accounts of poor after demonetisationand ensure this money goes to the poor households.
