Taxman's brush with fine art of evasion

CA Nikita | Last updated: 03 July 2007

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The Indian Income Tax department is targeting the country's $350 million art market to crack down on widespread tax evasion. Recent raids on galleries in Mumbai and Delhi revealed common practices like under-invoicing, undocumented transactions, and under-reported inventory. By enforcing transparency in gallery accounting, tax authorities aim to identify high-spending anonymous buyers who are dodging taxes on their art acquisitions.

Tax evasion, some say, has become a fine art in India. So, it wasperhaps a matter of time before fine art came under the I-T scanner.It would certainly be hard for taxmen to ignore this phenomenon,with the Indian art market currently valued at $350 million andsales and auctions routinely raking in c

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FAQ :

The I-T department is targeting the art market because it has become a high-priority non-traditional area for tracking tax evasion, especially since the market is now valued at $350 million.

Common methods include under-invoicing, leaving price tags unlisted, keeping actual deal amounts off the books, under-reporting inventory, and using undocumented transactions.

The I-T investigation wing searched 14 galleries in Mumbai and 11 galleries in Delhi, and also inspected some art funds.

The department is also targeting high-spending, often anonymous buyers who bid via telephone and fail to pay the correct amount of tax on their art purchases.

The department may seek assistance from experts at the National Gallery of Modern Art, the National Museum, and other reputed art repositories.