Govt receives first tranche of Swiss account details

NEWDELHI/BERNE: India has got first tranche of Swiss bank account details of its nationals under a new automatic information exchange pact, a major milestone in the government’s fight against black money stashed abroad.

India is among 75 countries with which Switzerland’s Federal Tax Administration (FTA) has exchanged information on financial accounts within the framework of global standards on AEOI, an FTA spokesperson told PTI. The next exchange would take place in September 2020, the spokesperson added.

This is the first time that India has received details from Swiss authorities under the AEOI framework, which provides for exchange of information on financial accounts, currently active as well as those accounts that were closed during 2018, the year in which the framework agreement became effective.

However, the information exchange is governed by strict confidentiality clauses, and the FTA officials refused to disclose specific details on the number of accounts or about the quantum of financial assets associated with the Indian clients of Swiss banks.

However, the AEOI only relates to accounts that are officially in the name of Indians and they might include those used for business and other genuine purposes. Overall, the FTA has sent information on around 3.1 million financial accounts to the partner states and received information on around 2.4 million.

Separately, the Swiss government said in a statement that the number of countries with which the AEOI (Automatic Exchange of Information) has taken place this year is 75, out of which there was reciprocity with 63 countries.