Private locker-vaults are necessary evil but should be regulated
It refers to Income Tax officers continuing to wait for those having taken on rent lockers operated by a private firm in Khari Baoli area of Old Delhi which is the prominent business hub for wholesale trade of many commodities. Only one-third out of total about 150 lockers are till date opened because lack of regulatory norms for taking these privately-operated lockers on hire with rent running into some lakhs of rupees annually. Already about rupees 35 crores of currency has been detected from the opened lockers. Earlier also similar search in South Extension area of New Delhi resulted in seizure of heavy unaccounted cash.
Such privately operated lockers working till late evening are necessary evil because India does not have facility of night banking where traders may be able to deposit accounted cash of the daily sale-proceeds. However much-required regulations including provision of Know-Your-Customer (KYC) reported regularly to some regulatory body can prevent misuse of such privately operated lockers for keeping unaccounted cash. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and reserve Bank of India (RBI) should urgently sort out some mechanism for compulsory registration of privately-operated locker-vaults fixing suitable norms like KYC, failing which complete cash and other valuables seized from unregistered private locker-vaults may be treated as income of those operating unregistered private vaults.
MADHU AGRAWAL