Web portal for exchange of information on income tax

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Friday unveiled a web portal that consolidates all Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) at one place for access by financial institutions, departmental officers and the public at large.

India is committed to exchange financial account information automatically from 2017 under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) on AEOI. Information is reported annually by financial institutions which are then exchanged by India under the standard.

"The portal will not only be useful for the domestic financial institutions but also help foreign tax authorities and financial institutions to get information about Indian laws, rules and procedures related to AEOI under CRS," said an official statement.

It will be a repository of policy and technical circulars, guidance/notifications issued by the CBDT and provide links to relevant circulars and guidance issued by regulatory authorities in India and other international bodies.

To implement the AEOI standard, a legal framework was put in place during 2015. A comprehensive guidance note was released on August 31, 2015 to provide guidance to financial institutions, sectoral regulators and officers of the Income Tax Department for ensuring compliance with reporting requirements under the Income Tax Act.

The sectoral regulators have also issued necessary notifications and circulars for compliance by the financial institutions. Stakeholder consultations are also carried out by the CBDT to educate financial institutions about their reporting obligations.

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