India to get 3rd list of Swiss bank details, real estate assets added for first time

New Delhi: India will under an automatic exchange of information pact with Switzerland get the third set of Swiss bank account details of its nationals this month.

The officials, who briefed in this regard, said this will include for the first time the data about real estate properties owned by the Indians there.

India will this month get the complete information on flats, apartments and condominiums owned by the Indians in Switzerland besides earnings made from such properties to help it look into tax liabilities associated with those assets.

The officials said while the Swiss government has agreed to share details of real estate assets, the information about contributions to non-profit organisations and other such foundations besides details on investments in digital currencies still remain out of bounds from the automatic exchange of information framework, PTI reported.

This marks a key breakthrough in the Indian government's fight against black money allegedly stashed abroad.

India had earlier in September 2019 received the first set of details from Switzerland under the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI).

India received in September 2020 the second set of Swiss bank account details of its nationals and entities, along with 85 other recipient countries with whom Switzerland's Federal Tax Administration (FTA) exchanged information on financial accounts within the framework of global standards on AEOI last year.

Switzerland's Federal Council has from this year decided to implement a key recommendation of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, under which the Swiss authorities will also share details about investments made by the foreigners in the Swiss real estate sector.

The information shared by the Swiss authorities includes identification, account and financial information such as name, address, country of residence and tax identification number as well as information concerning the reporting financial institution, account balance and capital income.