These are among the streams of expenditure that have so far escaped the scrutiny of the tax department in its attempt to curb black money.
"We are looking at widening the scope of the PAN for types of expenditure that tend to be funded out of unaccounted money," a finance ministry official said, adding that there could be an amendment in the Income Tax Rule 114 B in the Budget.
The PAN needs to be quoted now for 16 transactions, including purchase of immovable property of Rs 5 lakh and above, purchase of a motor vehicle, time deposits exceeding Rs 50,000, opening of a bank account and for getting a new telephone connection.
Expenditure on most consumer goods is not in this list. This year the tax department has undertaken surveys about the purchase of expensive goods like watches, modular kitchens and plasma televisions and services like health clubs with an eye on restricting tax evasion.
Over recent years, the government has initiated measures to bring unaccounted money into the tax net.
Last year, Finance Minister P Chidambaram introduced a transaction tax on cash withdrawals of over Rs 25,000 from a current account in a bank.
Filing of annual information returns for seven transactions, including purchase or sale of property worth Rs 30 lakh and above and investment in mutual funds beyond a limit, has been made mandatory.
Another proposal being examined is that of a new tax return form. "There is a thinking in a section of the revenue department that the income tax return form could be used to obtain information on select heads of expenditure. Barring Saral, the other return forms could contain columns for details on expenditure such as purchase of houses or high-value consumer goods," an official said.
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