Income Tax Department Issues Notice To Reliance Industries Under Black Money Act

The Income Tax department has reportedly issued a notice to Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, his wife Nita Ambani and their three children- under provisions of the 2015 Black Money Act, reports The Indian Express.

According to the report, the department has sent notices to the Ambanis after an investigation on the details received from many countries. It said that the notices were issued on March 28, 2019, for alleged undisclosed foreign income and assets.

The Income Tax department started its probe in 2011 when the government received details of some 700 Indians having accounts in HSBC Geneva. This was followed by many media agencies. The report also pointed out that the company (Reliance Group) was linked to a cluster of 14 HSBC Geneva bank accounts, which have a balance of $601 million.

The Income Tax Department notice also mentions that the Ambanis did not reveal that they had holdings in Capital Investment Trust and Cayman Islands-based Infrastructure Company, cited the newspaper report.

However, Reliance has denied all the allegations. "We deny all the contents of your email including receipt of any such notice," Reliance spokesperson was quoted by The Indian Express.

For the unaware, the 2015 Black Money Act imposes a penalty on black money or undisclosed money and assets.

This is not the first time that the Income Tax department served a notice to Mukesh Ambani. Earlier, the department issued a notice to Ambani for not paying tax on the income of Rs. 2,635 crore. Also, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has ordered a probe against Mukesh Ambani, for generating an artificial shortage of gas in India.