The CA Institute on Tuesday said that as per the latest information available with the Institute total declarations made under the ‘Income Declaration Scheme’ 2016 has crossed ₹71,000 crore.

M Devaraja Reddy, President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), told at press conference here that the Institute has played a “catalytic” role in ensuring strong response to the recently concluded black money declaration scheme. So far, 64,000 declarants have availed themselves of the scheme.

Besides, building awareness about IDS 2016 among its members and public, the CA Institute had also played a role in getting various clarifications from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which had issued Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on the scheme.

“We played role of facilitator and supported the government for ensuring good response to the scheme,” Reddy said, adding that most of the declarations under the scheme had come with the help of chartered accountants around the country.

Reddy did not want to be drawn into questions on whether Chartered Accountants themselves had any role in creation of black money or whether the full potential for disclosures had been achieved.

“It’s not that most people in the country are dishonest. There are various factors including income earning capability, number of people to support in the family. Our role is mostly advisory. We can only bring the horse to the pond. It’s up to the horse to drink or not,” he added.

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