NEW DELHI/BERNE, 9 Oct: India has received a new set of Swiss bank account details of its nationals and organisations as part of an annual automatic exchange of information under which Switzerland has shared particulars of nearly 36 lakh financial accounts with 104 countries.
This is the fifth such annual exchange of information between Switzerland and India, with officials saying that the new details shared with Indian authorities pertain to “hundreds of financial accounts,” including many cases of multiple accounts associated with some individuals, corporates and trusts.
The details that have been shared include identification, account and financial information, including name, address, country of residence and tax identification number, as well as information concerning the reporting financial institution, account balance and capital income.
The officials did not divulge the amount involved in the exchanged information or any other specifics, citing the confidentiality clause of the information exchange and the adverse impact it may have on further investigations, but asserted that the data would be used extensively in probes of suspected tax evasion and other wrongdoings, including money laundering and terror funding.
The exchanged information allows tax authorities to verify whether taxpayers have correctly declared their financial accounts in their tax returns.
Some of these cases relate to entities set up by Indians in various overseas jurisdictions like Panama, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands, while the individuals include mostly businessmen and a few politicians and erstwhile royals, as well as their family members.
The officials, however, refused to share details about the exact number of accounts or the quantum of assets held in the accounts held by Indians, for which the information has been shared with India, citing strict confidentiality clauses governing the exchange framework.
This is being seen as a key milestone in the Indian government’s fight against black money allegedly stashed abroad as authorities will be able to get the complete information on flats, apartments and condominiums owned by Indians in Switzerland, as also on earnings made from such properties to help it look into tax liabilities associated with those assets.
The move assumes significance on the part of Switzerland, which is trying hard to reposition itself as a key global financial centre while warding off the long-persisting perception about the Swiss banking system being an alleged safe haven for black money. (PTI)