New Delhi, March 6 (IANS) As many as 30,161 Indian citizens have declared foreign assets exceeding Rs 29,000 crores and foreign income of Rs 1,089.88 crore for the Assessment Year (AY) 2024-25, following a special campaign launched by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), official sources told IANS on Thursday.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) launched a compliance-cum-awareness campaign, aimed at encouraging voluntary disclosures of offshore wealth and income.
The campaign implemented by the Income Tax Department focused on a data-driven and non-intrusive approach which led to a 45.17 per cent year-on-year jump in voluntary disclosures in 2024-25 compared to 2023-24.
Of the 30,161 taxpayers who declared their offshore wealth, 5,483 filed ITRs after the last date, while others revised existing filings. In addition, 6,734 individuals updated their residential status from Resident to Non-Resident, according to sources.
These taxpayers have declared foreign assets worth Rs 29,208 crore and additional foreign income of Rs 1,089.88 crore, sources said.
Sources said the tax authorities received financial information from over 108 countries regarding foreign accounts and income in the form of interest and dividends earned outside India by its citizens.
The number of taxpayers disclosing foreign assets and income voluntarily has shot up from 60,000 in 2021-22 to 2,31,452 taxpayers in 2024-25.
India is one of the early adopters of Common Reporting Standards (CRS) and has been receiving data since 2018.
More than 125 countries have agreed to share financial information of individuals linked to other jurisdictions on an automatic basis, including details of accounts held, account balances, dividends, interest received, and gross payments.
A similar exchange occurs with the USA under the Inter-Governmental Agreement under the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), 2010.
Using this data received under the automatic exchange of information, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) launched a Compliance-Cum-Awareness Campaign on 17th November 2024, urging taxpayers to declare their foreign assets and income in revised Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for Assessment Year (AY) 2024-25.
This campaign followed a system-driven and taxpayer-friendly approach, utilising the information received through CRS and FATCA.
The Income Tax Department (ITD) facilitated taxpayers by providing a step-by-step guide to filling Schedule Foreign Assets and Schedule Foreign Source Income, along with explanatory materials to help them understand the information received under these frameworks.
As part of the campaign, SMS and emails were sent to 19,501 taxpayers with high foreign account balances or significant foreign income from interest or dividends above a specified threshold.
The taxpayers were requested to revise their Income Tax Returns (ITRs) to reflect their foreign assets and income.
Additionally, 30 outreach sessions, seminars, and webinars were conducted across India, engaging over 8,500 participants directly.
Overall, approximately 62 per cent of taxpayers responded positively, voluntarily revising their ITRs to declare foreign assets and income.
At the heart of this campaign lies the 'Trust First' approach, which prioritises voluntary compliance over enforcement. Instead of intrusive actions, the Department has trusted taxpayers first, giving them ample opportunity to make true and complete disclosures of their foreign income and assets, a senior official pointed out.
