India gets 5th set of Swiss bank account details

PTI

New Delhi/Berne, October 9

India has received a new set of Swiss bank account details of its nationals and organisations as part of an annual automatic information exchange under which Switzerland has shared particulars of nearly 36 lakh financial accounts with 104 countries.

Allows it dept to verify tax returns

• The details that have been shared include identification, account and financial information such as name, address, country of residence and tax identification number
• The information allows tax authorities to verify whether taxpayers have correctly declared their financial accounts in their tax return

This is the fifth such annual exchange of information between Switzerland and India with the 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 of money laundering and terror funding.

The exchange took place last month and the next set of information would be shared by Switzerland in September 2024, the officials added.

The exchanged information allows tax authorities to verify whether taxpayers have correctly declared their financial accounts in their tax returns.

In a statement from Swiss capital Berne, the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) on Monday said that it has exchanged information on financial accounts with 104 countries within the framework of the global standard on the Automatic Exchange Of Information (AEOI). India had received the first set of details from Switzerland under the AEOI in September 2019. It was among the 75 countries to get such information that year. In 2022, India was among 86 such partner countries.

According to experts, the AEOI data received by India has been quite useful for establishing a strong prosecution case against those who have any unaccounted wealth as it provides entire details of deposits and transfers as well as of all earnings, including through investments in securities and other assets.

On the condition of anonymity, the officials said the details relate mostly to businessmen, including non-resident Indians now settled in several South-East Asian countries as well as in the US, the UK and even some African countries.

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