Clarify black money rules

The government will find it difficult to ignore the growing pressure from India Inc., and from Indians who have bank accounts abroad either individually or through trusts, to relook the India Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, and the more recent valuation rules, which they feel are ambiguous and full of anomalies.

CAs and tax advisers are said to be trying to find a way out of these anomaly-littered rules as distraught clients worry about their future and want more clarity. They fear the worst as corruption is rampant among a section of tax men. A large number of foreign account holders are keen to use this one-time window but they are not sure that once they declare their accounts they won’t be harassed thereafter.

Already there are cases of income-tax authorities initiating proceedings against those currently under investigation. One glaring anomaly is the rule that says that for the purpose of calculating the tax and penalties, etc., the amounts in the foreign bank from the day the account was opened would be taken into consideration. This is unreasonable because it would be impossible to give information on bank accounts opened 20 or 30 years ago as banks keep records only for 10 years. As far as valuations are concerned, only the registered value of the property, shares, etc., would be taken, but the registered-value concept does not exist abroad.