Note ban: Over 20,000 I-T returns picked for detailed probe

The Income Tax Department has picked 20,572 tax returns for "detailed scrutiny" suspecting discrepancies in incomes before and after demonetisation, official sources said. Separately, they said, the department has identified one lakh "high risk" cases of alleged tax evasion for detailed investigation.

According to the sources, 20,572 tax returns have been selected for detailed scrutiny after their profiles before and after demonetisation did not match. A scrutiny procedure in the I-T department parlance denotes submission of a volume of records and testimonials, after which the taxman or the assessing officer makes sure that the return filed is correct and the filer has not evaded any tax.