The opportunity given to 18 lakh people to e-verify cash deposits they made between November 9 and December 30, 2016, ended on Wednesday. The second phase of 'Operation Clean Money', requiring more people to e-verify their deposits is expected to begin within a fortnight.
Sources in the Reserve Bank of India said deposits not verified by February15, will result in account holders being served notices under the Income Tax Act and thereafter "enforcement actions in accordance with law".
The e-verification of deposits was announced by Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia under the government's 'Operation Clean Money' on January 31, and had a ten day window that was subsequently extended to February 15.
According to the Income Tax Department, the response was "overwhelming". Till February 12, more than 5.27 lakh taxpayers had responded, confirming deposits into 7.41 lakh accounts. This constitutes 99.5 per cent of the accounts.
The department had, in the first phase, sent email and text messages to 18 lakh people who had deposited the demonetised currencies in the denomination of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 into their accounts till December 30. Of these people, 4.84 lakh had not registered with the Income Tax Department's e-filing portal, a prerequisite to e-verification.
