Registry alert! Income Tax trouble may hit you soon if you've paid over Rs 20k in cash for property purchase in Delhi

It's a bid to launch a big crackdown against black money! You may soon receive a notice from the Income Tax Department if you have made a cash transaction of Rs 20,000 and above while dealing in property in Delhi. The I-T Department's Delhi division is all set to start a drive against property purchases where cash transaction crosses the limit of Rs 20,000. If the cash transaction beyond the limit is done, then a penalty of an amount equal under Section 271 D of Income Tax Act will be imposed on a seller and buyer who accept cash or refund of advance is made in cash by the seller of the property.

"Income Tax Department's Delhi division is short-listing the registry of properties involving cash payment above Rs 20,000. I-T Dept has scanned all the registries made from 2015 to 2018 when I-T teams visited all 21 Sub-Registrar offices of Delhi. They scanned all the registries done from June 1, 2015, to December 2018 where the cash payment above Rs 20,000 was made," a senior I-T Department official said, requesting anonymity, news agency ANI reported.

From the next month, the assessment officer of I-T Department will start sending notices to both the seller and the purchaser. The seller will be asked to pay the penalty of an equal amount if he has accepted cash above Rs 20,000. "We will also ask the source of money with the purchaser," added the I-T officer, as cited by ANI.

Section 269SS of the Income-Tax Act effected some changes for the realty sector in 2015, in a bid to curb the generation of black money by way of dealings in cash in immovable property transactions.

Any transaction in real estate including agriculture land shall be required to be made through account payee cheque or real-time gross settlement (RTGS) or electronic funds transfer if the amount is Rs 20,000 or above, as per the tax law formulated by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which is effective from June 1, 2015.