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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | India may have to wait till 2012 for information on black money

India may have to wait till 2012 for information on black money

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published Published on Jan 24, 2011   modified Modified on Jan 24, 2011
India, Switzerland had signed a protocol to amend the DTA last year

It is expected to help India get details about illicit wealth

India may have to wait till at least next year for information from Switzerland on the possible black money trail to Swiss banks, as a treaty for the same might come into force only by the end of 2011.

The treaty needs to be ratified by various authorities in India and Switzerland, including the Parliament of the European nation, and it might come into effect by 2011-end depending on these approvals, a spokesperson of Switzerland's Federal Department of Finance told PTI.

If ratified by 2011-end, the provisions of the treaty, which includes information exchange about suspected tax evaders and other financial offenders, would come into effect in India from the fiscal year beginning on or after the first day of April 2012, the official said.

This means that India would be able to seek information for fiscal year 2012-13 onwards and not for the past periods, experts said here. Still, it is unlikely that the names of Indians having money in Swiss banks would be made public, as being demanded by the Opposition parties, because such a step would not only be in breach of the bilateral treaty, but could also hinder the process of investigations, they added. In Switzerland, the provisions would come into effect on the fiscal year beginning on or after January 1 following the treaty coming into force, the Swiss official said.

The Indian government is facing intense pressure from the Opposition parties, and the Supreme Court, on the issue of black money allegedly stashed away by some Indians in Swiss banks and other tax havens. It has become a political hot potato, amid reports of Indians having parked billions of dollars in these banks. But, there are no official figures as such and experts believe that it was not necessary that all the funds deposited by Indians in Swiss banks were ill-gotten.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Swiss Federal Councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey signed a “protocol” on August 30, 2010 to amend the double taxation agreement (DTA). The revised tax treaty is expected to facilitate the Indian government getting details about illicit wealth kept in Swiss banks.

Asked about the status of the treaty, the Swiss official said that one of the Parliament commissions in charge of the DTAs last week decided to approve the DTA with India and the approval process was expected to end by September, 2011.

“So, the plenum of the lower chamber of Parliament will soon decide on it. Three months later, the higher chamber will take a decision. Probably, by the end of summer 2011, the DTA with India will be approved by the Swiss institutions,” the official said.

“Depending on the process of approval in India, the DTA may come into force by the end of 2011,” the spokesperson said in reply to emailed queries by PTI.

If the DTA comes into force by 2011-end, the official said, “its provisions shall have effect in India, in respect of income arising in any fiscal year beginning on or after the first day of April next following the calendar year in which the Amending Protocol entered into force.”

On the other hand, the provisions will become effective in Switzerland, in respect of income arising in any fiscal year beginning on or after the first day of January next following the calendar year in which the protocol enters into force.

As per the initial agreement signed between the two countries, the information exchange was expected to take effect on January 1.

“This Protocol has not entered into force yet, since the governments of the Contracting States have not notified each other through diplomatic channels that all legal requirements and procedures for giving effect to the Amending Protocol have been satisfied,” the official had earlier said.

The revised tax treaty agreement was reached after months of negotiations, even as the Swiss banks said that they would not permit “fishing expeditions” — meaning unwarranted and indiscriminate trawling through bank accounts in the hope of finding something interesting.

OECD terms

The Swiss Bankers Association had previously said any information exchange would be according to the conditions set out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the grouping of mostly developed nations, and the information being sought should be specific in nature. — PTI

The Hindu, 24 January, 2011, http://www.hindu.com/2011/01/24/stories/2011012459541200.htm


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