India gets 3rd list of Swiss bank details; info on real estate assets included for 1st time

New Delhi, Oct11: The Federal Tax Administration of Switzerland furnished India with a list of its nationals' Swiss bank accounts (FTA). This was the third communication between the Swiss authorities and India in accordance with the global standard for automatic information exchange (AEOI).

According to a press release issued on Monday, it exchanged data with 96 countries on around 3.3 (33 lakh) million financial accounts.

Switzerland became the first country to implement the worldwide standard for international automatic exchange of information in tax affairs, which became law in January 2017. "Identification, account, and financial information, including name, address, country of residence, and tax identification number, as well as information on the reporting financial institution, account balance, and capital income, are exchanged," FTA stated in a media statement. Since 2018, cooperation with India has been in effect.

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The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Global Forum on Transparency and Information Exchange oversees the agreement's implementation. The goal is to assist sovereigns in combating offshore tax evasion.

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The Pandora Papers leak: The development comes in the wake of recent exposés from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which published the 'Pandora Papers,' revealing the names of a slew of athletes, celebrities, politicians, and public figures who chose to park their wealth in offshore tax-havens. First Pandora papers and now this swiss bank holder name list will definitely strike fear in the hearts of tax thieves all around the world and in India itself.