Global pacts have helped detect foreign assets of Indian taxpayers: Minister
Parliament was informed on Monday that the Central Board of Direct Taxes regularly receives detailed financial data under global tax cooperation frameworks, including the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) with over 100 jurisdictions including Switzerland, which it uses to verify ITRs filed by Indian taxpayers.
New Delhi: Parliament was informed on Monday that the Central Board of Direct Taxes regularly receives detailed financial data under global tax cooperation frameworks, including the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) with over 100 jurisdictions including Switzerland, which it uses to verify ITRs filed by Indian taxpayers.
As a result, a total of 24,678 taxpayers reported their foreign assets and income in revised ITRs for AY 2024-25, while 5,483 taxpayers filed belated returns reporting foreign assets worth Rs 29,208 crore and foreign income of Rs 1,089.88 crore, Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, said in the Lok Sabha.
The minister said that the Government of India has been proactively engaging with foreign governments, for exchange of information, and has entered into tax treaties including Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements, Tax Information Exchange Agreements, the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and the SAARC Multilateral Agreement, with other countries which provide for mutual administrative assistance including exchange of information concerning taxes.
India has also joined the AEOI, based on the Common Reporting Standard and receives financial account information of Indian residents in other countries with which the AEOI relationship is activated. India has also entered into an InterGovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the US in 2015 for sharing of financial account information on automatic basis.
The Government has taken proactive and effective steps whenever any credible information has been received with regard to black money abroad, whether in HSBC cases, ICIJ cases, Paradise Papers or Panama Papers.
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These steps include constitution of Multi-Agency Group in relevant cases, calling for definite information from foreign jurisdictions, bringing the black money to tax under relevant law, launching prosecutions against the offenders, the minister said.
The NUDGE (Non-Intrusive Usage of Data to Guide and Enable) Taxpayers Campaign was launched by the Income Tax Department in November 2024 to improve taxpayers’ voluntary compliance for declaration of foreign income and assets.
Under the campaign, informational messages were sent via SMS and email to selected resident taxpayers in respect of whom information has been received under the Automatic Exchange of Information that they are holding foreign assets and/or having income from foreign sources, to accurately report foreign assets and income from foreign sources in their Income Tax Returns, the minister said.
The current mechanisms have been successful in preventing the proliferation of black money, and have promoted a concerted global effort for curtailing bank secrecy for tax purposes and promoting tax transparency.
These measures have further been accompanied by digitisation and formalisation of the economy which have led to further reduction in the opportunities for proliferation of black money, the minister added.
