Soumya_india
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Switzerland has agreed to give details of secret bank accounts held by Indian individuals in that country.
The move is expected to make it easier for the Indian government to track unaccounted wealth of its citizens, stashed in banking and other financial instruments in Switzerland and repatriate it to India.
According to a Finance Ministry statement, Switzerland will provide details of information of an account holder even if India has only limited details of the person. The step has been taken after a mutual agreement was reached between the two countries, recently.
This agreement is beneficial to India because it gives liberal interpretation to the identity requirements for exchange of information which India will be seeking from Switzerland and is in line with international standards.
Conditions as clarified by Switzerland will enable India to get information even if we have only limited details regarding the person having bank accounts in Switzerland, the statement said.
Analysts, however, said India could request for information only after it had exhausted its own laws to obtain this information.
India had inked the pact with Switzerland to revise their bilateral taxation treaty in August 2010. The revised treaty was approved by Swiss Parliament on June 17 last year.
As per the current agreement, both governments are entitled to release data in cases for which information is sought for.
Currently, the Indian government is looking into details of Swiss bank accounts provided by French authorities. According to a Swiss National Bank data, Indians held Rs 9,295 crore in 2010 in Swiss banks.
India, trying to combat the menace of black money stashed abroad, has been negotiating and re-negotiating tax treaties with several countries and tax havens. It has also taken up the issue of tax havens at international fora like G-20 and persuaded the world leaders to take up its concern globally.
Swiss a/c holders names soon
The move is expected to make it easier for the Indian government to track unaccounted wealth of its citizens, stashed in banking and other financial instruments in Switzerland and repatriate it to India.
According to a Finance Ministry statement, Switzerland will provide details of information of an account holder even if India has only limited details of the person. The step has been taken after a mutual agreement was reached between the two countries, recently.
This agreement is beneficial to India because it gives liberal interpretation to the identity requirements for exchange of information which India will be seeking from Switzerland and is in line with international standards.
Conditions as clarified by Switzerland will enable India to get information even if we have only limited details regarding the person having bank accounts in Switzerland, the statement said.
Analysts, however, said India could request for information only after it had exhausted its own laws to obtain this information.
India had inked the pact with Switzerland to revise their bilateral taxation treaty in August 2010. The revised treaty was approved by Swiss Parliament on June 17 last year.
As per the current agreement, both governments are entitled to release data in cases for which information is sought for.
Currently, the Indian government is looking into details of Swiss bank accounts provided by French authorities. According to a Swiss National Bank data, Indians held Rs 9,295 crore in 2010 in Swiss banks.
India, trying to combat the menace of black money stashed abroad, has been negotiating and re-negotiating tax treaties with several countries and tax havens. It has also taken up the issue of tax havens at international fora like G-20 and persuaded the world leaders to take up its concern globally.
Swiss a/c holders names soon
