Government to curb down 7 lakh shell companies to fight against black money
The government has expanded the ambit of its fight against black money and is looking to curb institutional money laundering by shutting down “dormant” companies, suspected to be anywhere between 6 to 7 lakh. Many of these firms had carried out high-value transactions and deposited huge amounts of cash in banks following demonetisation of high-value currency notes.
The I-T department also gathered a wealth of information on these “dormant” companies. These firms had managed to remain under the radar till now by not filing annual returns with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). The government has involved all major revenue intelligence agencies in the exercise, besides the Security and Exchange Board of India, the RBI, the Intelligence Bureau and the corporate affairs ministry, the official said. The CBDT is believed to have impressed upon the government that once these 6-7 lakh dormant firms are deregistered, it could bring an end to “institutional money laundering” in the country.
