In a move aimed at combating black money stashed abroad, India signed an agreement with Switzerland today that would allow automatic sharing of tax-related information from January 1 next year, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said.

&quot;With the completion of the parliamentary procedure in Switzerland and signing of the mutual agreement, India and Switzerland are set for the automatic exchange of information for the period beginning from January 1, 2018,&quot; the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said.

The policy-making body for the Income Tax Department said the agreement was signed by CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra and Swiss Ambassador to India Andreas Baum at the North Block, New Delhi.

A joint declaration for the implementation of Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) was signed last month between the two sides here and it provided that both countries would start collecting data in accordance with the global standards in 2018 and exchange it from 2019 onwards.

While Switzerland has confirmed to the global standards on automatic exchange of information with the signing of the declaration, India, on its part, has promised to safeguard the confidentiality of the data.

&quot;It will now be possible for India to receive from September 2019 onwards, the financial information of accounts held by Indian residents in Switzerland for 2018 and subsequent years, on an automatic basis,&quot; the government earlier said.

Switzerland, which has always been at the center of the debate on black money allegedly stashed by Indians abroad, used to be known for very strong secrecy walls till a few years ago around its banking practices.

A huge global pressure has resulted in Switzerland relenting on the tough secrecy clauses its local laws gave to the banks.

Official sources said that several information requests for details about Indians who had accounts in Swiss banks were still pending.

The AEOI conforms to a norm set by the global economic body the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for tax transparency.

The agreement would allow automatic sharing of tax-related information from January 1 next year

In a move aimed at combating black money stashed abroad, India signed an agreement with Switzerland today that would allow automatic sharing of tax-related information from January 1 next year, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said. "With the completion of the parliamentary procedure in Switzerland and signing of the mutual agreement, India and Switzerland are set for the automatic exchange of information for the period beginning from January 1, 2018," the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said. The policy-making body for the Income Tax Department said the agreement was signed by CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra and Swiss Ambassador to India Andreas Baum at the North Block, New Delhi. A joint declaration for the implementation of Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) was signed last month between the two sides here and it provided that both countries would start collecting data in accordance with the global standards in 2018 and exchange it from 2019 onwards. While Switzerland has confirmed to the global standards on automatic exchange of information with the signing of the declaration, India, on its part, has promised to safeguard the confidentiality of the data. "It will now be possible for India to receive from September 2019 onwards, the financial information of accounts held by Indian residents in Switzerland for 2018 and subsequent years, on an automatic basis," the government earlier said. Switzerland, which has always been at the center of the debate on black money allegedly stashed by Indians abroad, used to be known for very strong secrecy walls till a few years ago around its banking practices. A huge global pressure has resulted in Switzerland relenting on the tough secrecy clauses its local laws gave to the banks. Official sources said that several information requests for details about Indians who had accounts in Swiss banks were still pending. The AEOI conforms to a norm set by the global economic body the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for tax transparency.

Black money: India-Swiss deal inked, data sharing from January 1

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Black money: India-Swiss deal inked, data sharing from January 1