₹1,300 Crore Property Disclosure Scam Unearthed at Nagpur’s Hingna Registry Office:
Large scale non reporting of SFT:
1. In a major revelation reported by local Hindi Newspaper Navbharat, the Income Tax Department has uncovered large-scale irregularities at the Hingna sub-registrar office in Nagpur, where property deals worth over ₹1,300 crore were allegedly concealed from tax authorities.
2. The investigation was conducted by the Intelligence and Criminal Investigation (I&CI) wing of the Income Tax Department.
More details:
1. According to sources cited by Navbharat, one particular transaction worth ₹100 crore was not reported at all. In total, more than 500 property transactions were allegedly hidden from the system.
2. In many cases, registrations were done at values significantly lower than the official Ready Reckoner (RR) rate, raising suspicions of tax evasion and unaccounted cash payments.
3. The irregularities came to light when some individuals mentioned high-value property purchases in their income tax returns. Upon verification, the IT Department found no corresponding information in the records provided by the registrar office. This mismatch led to the detailed survey at the Hingna office.
4. Initial findings have confirmed that the omission of data was deliberate, aimed at helping buyers and sellers avoid taxes. Investigators believe the total amount involved could rise up to ₹2,000 crore.
Further investigation underway:
1. The department is now closely monitoring all sub-registrar offices across Nagpur. There are a total of 21 such offices in the region – 12 in rural areas and 9 in the city.
Legal Basis:
1. Sec 285BA of the Income Tax Act read with Rule 114E of the Income Tax Rules requires certain specified persons to furnish a statement of specified financial transactions (SFTs) or reportable accounts.
2. A key SFT transaction to be reported is sale/purchase of immovable property having a value of ₹30 Lakhs or more.
Conclusion:
1. Data analysis is flagging mismatches-requiring better integration of deed records, property registries, and tax systems.
2. Systemic reforms needed- Automated real-time SFT uploading and reconciliation between local registrars and CBDT databases are essential.
