More than Rs 350 crore in cash has been seized so far in the ongoing Income Tax Department raid on the premises of Dheeraj Prasad Sahu, a distillery company owner and Congress Party Rajya Sabha MP in Odisha. Despite this, counting of notes is still going on. In such a situation, an important question is arising in everyone’s mind that confiscation of cash etc. is all right, but what happens to this money. Is this money returned back to the accused or is this amount deposited in the government treasury. In today’s story, let us discuss in detail the huge cash seized in Income Tax or ED raids and then the story of that money.
Who does the raid?
First of all let’s start with this question. Which agency can take action against illegal or black money in the country? There are three names in it. Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Income Tax Department (IT). These three agencies are under the Government of India and if they have suspicion or concrete information, they can suddenly raid any person’s house or other locations. State governments have no role in this.
Where is the money kept
When CBI, ED or IT seizes cash in a raid, the first thing they do is ask the accused for information about the source of the money. When the accused fails to give satisfactory answers the cash is considered black money under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. It is from here that the process of confiscating the cash is initiated. After this the agency sends a call to the nearest State Bank of India. With this, a complete detailed report of the seized cash is prepared. The bank starts the process of counting the notes. After the counting is complete, the notes are packed in boxes and sealed in the presence of impartial witnesses. Then it is taken to the SBI branch. There the entire amount is deposited in the personal deposit account of the agency. Later this amount is deposited in the account of the Central Government.
Use of cash
The point to be kept in mind here is that mere raid by the agency does not prove the accused guilty. The hearing of this entire case starts in the court. As long as the case is pending in the court, no one can use this money. After the court convicts the accused, the seized cash and valuables become government property. If acquitted in the case, all this money is returned to the accused.
Can you withdraw money by paying penalty?
Nothing can be said clearly about this. To understand this entire matter, we will have to discuss the raid conducted on Unnao perfumer Piyush Jain on 23 December 2021 and the cash worth Rs 196 crore and gold worth billions of rupees seized in it. However, according to the recent report, Piyush Jain has got bail in this case. He has come out of jail. But, they have not received the money back yet. According to the report, a few days after the raid, Piyush had expressed his desire to deposit the penalty. He had talked about paying a penalty of Rs 52 crore. But, it was rejected by the Directorate General of GSAT Intelligence.
According to a Hindustan Times report dated May 24, 2023, cash worth Rs 196 crore and 23 kg of gold was recovered from Piyush Jain’s premises. The Directorate General of GST Intelligence has imposed a fine of Rs 497 crore on him. The entire matter is still in the court and the money is deposited in SBI Bank.
Do it after the raid
If the accused feels that the raid has been conducted at his place with wrong intentions. His financial record is clean. If he has not committed any wrongdoing then he can challenge the entire matter directly in the High Court. Apart from this, he can also file a complaint with the Income Tax Appeal Commissioner. In this complaint, along with challenging the raid, he can also question the assessment of his property by the Income Tax Department. On the basis of this, the Income Tax Department will have to tell how it has calculated the property.