In case the woman’s party claims to have given huge amount in dowry, and if they don’t have income to support such amount of dowry, then you can file Tax Evasion Petition (TEP) followed by RTI on TEP to Income tax dept against FIL and dowry givers. Basic idea is to find out how they were able to give so much dowry if they do not have income. In case it comes out from RTI that they did not have so much income then their case will weaken considerably. If they still insist that they gave that much dowry, then they will have to explain to IT dept whey they did not disclose that income in those and previous years. IT rules are clear that if someone hides income to avoid income tax, they have to pay back income taxes along with interest for all the years and also penalty for evasion of income tax. Enjoy!
Read full information and format of RTI complaint here (SIFF Jul09):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saveindianfamily/message/135746
http://fightagainst498a.blogspot.com/
Following up on tax evasion petition with Income tax department using RTI
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saveindianfamily/message/136875
Thank you.
Hi, My FIL is a farmer with yearly income of around 4-5 Lakh and claims that he spent 50 Lakh on marriage and gave 50 Lakh as dowry. A farmer’s income is non taxable, will TEP be of any use in this case?
If he has any other income apart from agricultural income and it is above exemption limit, he will be liable to pay tax and file return; which means IT dept can very well have his PAN number and history of IT returns.
https://help.myitreturn.com/hc/en-us/articles/219728807-What-is-the-limit-of-exemption-for-agriculture-income-Is-Agricultural-Income-really-tax-free-
The other part is on what basis is it estimated that his income is really 4-5 lakh p.a. and not 2-3 lakh or 12-15 lakh? If this figure is assumed to be true based on his own self-declaration, it may very well be grossly underestimated or false figure. Better to find out extent of his land holding, and make an estimate of annual income based on size in acres, type of crop, number of crops per year. One good way may be to find out how much income other farmers have with similar acreage and same crops. You can attach website screenshots found on above topics, along with your own income estimate in a spreadsheet.
If his income is really 4-5 lakh per annum, then make an estimate of monthly/yearly expenses for his family members, and total them for average expense for an year. The savings may be too low, in that case giving dowry of 50 lakh does not arise unless he has sold a property to pay that dowry. The onus shifts on him to prove from where he got the source of funds. Some people say that they took loan from relatives, but the point is the onus is still on him to show the proof of 40-50 lakh loan, and no relative in sane mind will give such a large loan to someone with income of 4-5 lakh p.a., unless he wants to give it away as a gift. It can’t be paid back!