Election candidates with assets of over 5 crore rupees without PAN card under IT scrutiny

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Election Commission (EC) prepared a joint charter for scrutinising the poll affidavits of candidates contesting 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Candidates with assets of over 5 crore rupees without a Permanent Account Number (PAN) card are set to come under the scanner of tax department and Election Commission.

The two authorities have formulated five core parameters which will be used by the tax department to check affidavits of candidates from a suspected tax evasion angle. These would include checking veracity of the PAN cards of candidates.

The EC will provide PAN details of candidates to CBDT to check the financial antecedents of a candidate through PAN number.

The I-T department will take up all specific cases referred to it by the poll body, including the cases showing any abnormal rise in wealth.

A red flag mechanism was prepared jointly with the EC as the tax department does not have the wherewithal to scrutinize each and every case on its own.

Under this mechanism, the I-T department will also compare the declarations made by the candidates in their poll affidavits with the income tax returns filed by them.

EC has also created an exclusive Election Expenditure Monitoring cell of its own, while the Income Tax department's investigation and intelligence units had also brought on-board to check illegal funds and huge cash flows during the elections.

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