law: Voluntary Disclosure of Income and Wealth Act, 1976
  
  15. Voluntary disclosure of wealth.-
  (1)
  
  Subject to the provisions of this section, where any person makes, on or after
  
  the date of commencement of this Act but before the 1st day of January, 1976, a
  
  declaration in respect of-
  (a) the net wealth chargeable to wealth-tax for any assessment year for
  
  which he has failed to furnish a return under section 14 of the Wealth-tax Act;
  
  or
  (b) the value of the assets which has not been disclosed, or the value
  
  of the assets which has been understand, in any return of net wealth for any
  
  assessment year, then, notwithstanding anything contained in that Act, the net
  
  wealth, or, as the case may be, the value so declared shall not be taken into
  
  account for the purposes of any proceedings relating to imposition of penalty
  
  on the person making the declaration under this sub-section (hereafter in this
  
  section referred to as the declarant) or for the purposes of the prosecution of
  
  the declarant under that Act:
  that-
  (i) nothing contained in clause (a) shall apply in relation to the net
  
  wealth assessable for any assessment year for which a notice under section 14
  
  or section 17 of that Act has been served upon the declarant before the
  
  commencement of this Act;
  (ii) nothing contained in clause (b) shall apply in relation to so much
  
  of the value of such assets as has been assessed in any assessment for the
  
  relevant assessment year made by the Wealth-tax Officer before the date on
  
  which the declaration under this sub-section is made.
  (2)
  
  The declaration under sub-section (1) shall be made to the Commissioner and
  
  shall be in such form and shall be verified in such manner as may be prescribed
  
  by rules made by the Board.
  (3)
  
  A declaration under sub-section (1) shall be signed by the person specified in
  
  sub-section (2) of section 4 as if the declaration had been made under that
  
  section.
  (4) A copy of the declaration made by the declarant under sub-section (1) shall
  
  be forwarded by the Commissioner to the Wealth-tax Officer and the information
  
  contained therein may be taken into account for the purposes of the proceedings
  
  relating to assessment or reassessment of the net wealth of the declarant under
  
  the provisions of the Wealth-tax Act.
  (5)
  
  The immunity provided under sub-section (1) shall not be available to the
  
  declarant unless the wealth-tax chargeable in respect of the net wealth for the
  
  assessment year or years for which the declaration has been made is paid by the
  
  declarant in accordance with the provisions of section 5 and the declarant
  
  invests in the securities referred to in sub-section (3) of section 3 within
  
  the time specified in sub-section (4) of section 5 the sum specified in sub-section
  
  (6) of this section.
  
  Explanation.-For the purposes of this sub-section, wealth-tax chargeable
  
  in respect of the net wealth for any assessment year for which the declaration
  
  is made shall be-
  (a)
  
  in a case falling under clause (a) of sub-section (1), the wealth-tax payable
  
  in respect of the net wealth declared under that clause for that year;
  (b)
  
  in a case falling under clause (b) of sub-section (1),--
  (i) where no assessment has been made in pursuance of the return of net
  
  wealth furnished by the declarant, the wealth-tax payable on the aggregate of
  
  the net wealth returned and the value declared under that clause for that year
  
  as if such aggregate were the net wealth, as reduced by the wealth-tax payable
  
  on the basis of the net wealth returned;
  (ii) where an assessment has been made in pursuance of the return of net
  
  wealth furnished by the declarant, the wealth-tax payable on the aggregate of
  
  the net wealth as assessed and the value declared under that clause for that
  
  year as if such aggregate were the net wealth, as reduced by the wealth-tax
  
  payable on the net wealth as assessed.
  (6)
  
  The sum referred to in sub-section (5) shall be,--
  (a) where the declaration has been made in respect of one assessment year,
  
  a sum equal to two and a half per cent. of the amount of net wealth declared
  
  under clause (a) of sub-section (1), or, as the case may be, the value declared
  
  under clause (b) of that sub-section;
  (b) where the declaration has been made in respect of more than one
  
  assessment year, a sum equal to two and a half per cent. of the net wealth
  
  declared under clause (a) of sub-section (l), or, as the case may be, the value
  
  declared under clause (b) of that sub-section, in respect of the last of such
  
  assessment years.
  (7)
  
  Where any wealth-tax is paid by the declarant for any assessment year in
  
  accordance with the provisions of section 5, read with sub-section (5) of this
  
  section, credit therefor shall be given to the declarant in the assessment made
  
  under the Wealth-tax Act for that year.