New Delhi, Oct 26: The Income Tax Department has stepped up efforts to persuade taxpayers with undisclosed assets abroad to use the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers - Disclosure Scheme, 2026 (FAST-DS), a one-time opportunity to declare foreign assets and income not previously disclosed, Finance Ministry sources told ANI.
To help taxpayers, the department has added a facility on the e-filing portal where they can view details of assets reported against their PAN by foreign jurisdictions under the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), commonly known as CRS/FATCA. The data can be downloaded for the years 2022 to 2024.
Sources said the portal currently shows only information received from CRS/FATCA signatories. Data received under other multilateral frameworks has not been displayed because of risk factors and non-disclosure commitments, and the department also gathers intelligence from other sources.
At a high-level meeting on October 23, the department decided that such information may also be shared with the relevant taxpayers, wherever possible, so they can take advantage of the scheme.
It is learnt that the department had recently nudged select taxpayers who have invested in residential or commercial properties in the UAE.
The department has also planned outreach programmes for taxpayers, corporates as employers, educational institutes, professional bodies and industry associations. The CBDT has set up a committee in each region under the principal chief commissioner to help taxpayers resolve their queries and concerns.
Under the scheme, eligible disclosures can be regularised within a fixed window by paying 30 per cent tax on the fair market value, plus an equal amount as a penalty. The process is fully online, trust-based and self-declaratory. A valid declaration gives immunity from further assessment, penalty and prosecution under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.
The scheme also lets taxpayers report assets and income that have already been accounted for, on payment of a Rs 1 lakh fee. This avoids the Rs 10 lakh annual penalty prescribed under the Black Money Act.
Around 1,100 taxpayers have filed applications so far. The scheme remains open till December 31, 2026. (ANI)
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