India to get banking information from Switzerland before September deadline

In what can be termed as major success in the crackdown on black money, India and Switzerland are all set to share the banking information under the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) agreement. The joint declaration on the AEOI agreement was signed in 2016, and it came into force in 2018 with both nations ‘willing to intensify cooperation in tax matters and financial services..’ 

According to Indian Express report, a Swiss official in Switzerland’s Finance Ministry said ‘several dispatches might be necessary’ indicating that India in all likelihood is going to receive information pertaining to tax evasion and other financial discrepancies. 

India is among 73 other countries with which the Switzerland government will share information this year. As per the reciprocal nature of the agreement, India too will be required to furnish details concerning the Swiss government. 

In the wake of mutual understanding between two nations, the Swiss law, however, allows the foreign clients of Swiss banks to appeal against ‘sharing’ of their details within 30 days. 

Recently, it was reported that money parked by Indians in Swiss banks came down by nearly 6 percent which translates into Rs 6,757 crore.  In the past one year, the details of almost 100 Indians have been made public by the Swiss authorities.  The income tax department and enforcement department are currently probing the defaulters. 

The Indian government has been taking proactive steps in order to curb black money. Recently, the Swiss authorities attached four accounts of billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, prime accused in India’s biggest banking scam. The action came following Enforcement Directorate (ED) pressure on the Swiss authorities. 

In fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s case, the Swiss government, in compliance with the request of Indian authorities, is ready to hand over details to the CBI.

Modi government just after storming into power in 2014 had constituted a ‘Special Investigation Team’ to unearth the black money stashed outside the country.