India’s Income-Tax Department is using overseas financial data and a new online filing process to urge taxpayers to disclose undeclared foreign assets before the one-time window closes on 31 December.
The Income-Tax Department has begun urging select taxpayers who hold residential and commercial property in the United Arab Emirates and other overseas markets to come forward under a one-time disclosure window aimed at bringing hidden foreign wealth into the tax system. Officials said the push is part of a broader effort to identify undeclared assets held abroad and encourage voluntary compliance before tougher enforcement follows.
According to reports in The Economic Times, Business Standard and The New Indian Express, about 1,100 taxpayers have already filed applications under the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers-Disclosure Scheme, or FAST-DS, which remains open until December 31. The scheme gives eligible taxpayers a limited chance to regularise undisclosed foreign assets and income by making the required declarations and payments under the rules set out by the tax department.
The department is also widening the information available to taxpayers about overseas holdings linked to their Permanent Account Numbers. Under the Automatic Exchange of Information system, which includes the Common Reporting Standard and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, the department has been using data received from partner jurisdictions for the 2022-24 period to help identify foreign assets that may not have been reported in India.
Moneycontrol reported that the tax department has already made Form 1 available on its e-filing portal for those wishing to disclose foreign assets or foreign-source income under FAST-DS. The department has also issued a user manual explaining how taxpayers can generate Challan ITNS 289, with Assessment Year 2026-27 pre-filled, signalling that the disclosure drive is being backed by a more detailed online filing process as the deadline approaches.
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