Following up on the first phase of Operation Clean Money, tax authorities will begin sending a second round of letters to those who have not responded to the verification notices sent regarding cash deposits during the 52-day demonetisation period.

Sources said of the 18 lakh letters sent about seven lakh people have replied via email or text message.

“Most of the verification replies seem genuine. We will be sending another round of queries to those who have not responded or those whose replies did not seem satisfactory before taking further action,” said an official, adding that field offices have also been alerted.

Officials said the letters should be taken more seriously than the earlier verification queries.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes had identified one crore taxpayers who deposited over ₹2 lakh in cash in their bank accounts between November 9 and December 30. Of these, it had sent verification queries to 18 lakh taxpayers to explain the source of cash.

Under the plan, February 15 was the last day to respond to the queries, after which the CBDT had warned of further action.

If the explanation of source of cash is found justified, the verification will be closed. The verification will also be closed if the cash deposit is declared under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna.

Further action, including legal enforcement measures may be taken in cases where the reply does not justify the source of cash.

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