Taxpayers must disclose foreign income by Dec 31, says CBDT chairman

When asked about the progress in the income tax law review, the CBDT chief said that public consultation is ongoing and more than 6,000 suggestions have been received by the department

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Ravi Agarwal on Monday said taxpayers who have not disclosed their foreign income or assets in their Income Tax Returns (ITRs) have time till December 31 to file their revised return for financial year 2023-24.

 

The tax department is in the process of sending SMS and emails to assessees who have not disclosed high-value assets.

 

With regard to notifying taxpayers for non-disclosure of foreign assets, Agarwal said the tax department gets all details about foreign assets from nations under the automatic exchange of information. It matches such details with the disclosures in the ITRs.

 

“The basic intent is to remind taxpayers to declare foreign assets. They can file revised returns by December 31,” he said at the inauguration of the Taxpayers Lounge at the India International Trade Fair (IITF) in New Delhi.

 

Foreign assets include foreign bank accounts, foreign cash value insurance, financial interest in any business/entity, immovable property outside India, foreign equity or debt interest, accounts in which an assessee has signing authority, and any other capital assets.

 

The department on Sunday cautioned taxpayers that failure to disclose assets held abroad or income earned in foreign shores in the ITR can attract a penalty of Rs 10 lakh under the anti-black money law.

 

The department issued a public advisory as part of a compliance-cum-awareness campaign to ensure that such information is reported by assessees in their ITR for assessment year (AY) 2024-25.

 

The CBDT has said that as part of the campaign, it will send “informational” SMS and email to those resident taxpayers who have already filed their ITR for AY 2024-25.

 

When asked about the progress in income tax law review, the CBDT chief said public consultation is ongoing and more than 6,000 suggestions have been received by the department.

 

“I would invite taxpayers to come forward and give suggestions on international best practice, statute,” he added.

 

Last month, the CBDT's internal committee invited public inputs for review of the six-decade-old I-T Act with regard to simplification of language, litigation reduction, compliance reduction, and obsolete provisions. The CBDT has set up 22 specialised sub-committees to review various aspects of the Act.

 

Pursuant to the Budget announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for a comprehensive review of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the CBDT had set up an internal committee to oversee the review. It is supposed to make the Act concise, clear, and easy to understand. This will reduce disputes, litigation, and provide greater tax certainty to taxpayers.