New Delhi, July 16 -- To improve services for taxpayers and to encourage voluntary tax compliance, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has introduced a new feature that allows eligible taxpayers to view information on their foreign assets and income through the Annual Information Statement (AIS) available on the Income Tax Department's e-Filing portal.
As per reports from government sources, the program has been initiated as a way of facilitating taxpayers so that they can provide accurate information about their foreign assets and income while filing tax returns. The government said that this facility would help taxpayers fulfil their obligations, but it would not be a scrutiny process for them.
Financial account details regarding India's tax residents are provided to India by more than 100 partner countries under the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) arrangement and other international agreements regarding the exchange of financial information. Each year, details of the past year begin flowing to the Income Tax Department from September onwards.
According to government officials, the AIS presently has foreign asset and income details of Calendar Years 2022, 2023, and 2024. Details for Calendar Year 2025 are supposed to be disclosed after receiving them from partner countries from September to October 2026.
The information to be shared as part of the AEOI can include particulars of foreign bank accounts, custodian accounts, financial investments, interest income, dividends, and other specified financial income reported in partner countries on an internationally recognised standard of information exchange.
Nonetheless, it is important to note that the information available on the AIS is not comprehensive and is only information obtained by the Income Tax Department through international exchange mechanisms. Taxpayers should still be accountable for providing complete and accurate information about their foreign assets and income from foreign sources in the Schedules FA and FSI of their Income Tax Return forms, regardless of the information available on the AIS.
Sources from the government mentioned that this facility makes it possible for taxpayers to view the information in a secure manner by logging into their own e-Filing accounts and reaching the AIS section via the Compliance Portal. This can be done by viewing the information in the "Foreign Assets Information" report and downloading the same in PDF format for the concerned year. Viewing of such information is limited to only the taxpayer concerned in a secure manner.
As part of the launch, the Income Tax Department has started sending SMS and email alerts to the taxpayers regarding this service. They have been informed about the importance of declaring foreign assets and foreign-sourced income in case of need, when filing Income Tax Returns for Assessment Year 2026-27.
The CBDT has also motivated taxpayers to seek assistance from "Kar Saathi," an AI-driven virtual assistant provided by the Department at the e-Filing website for assistance in choosing the correct return form, understanding their reporting obligations regarding foreign assets and income and for any tax-related help.
Government sources say that this is part of a larger plan by the CBDT to utilise technology for delivery of taxpayer-centric services and to ensure voluntary compliance using non-intrusive means. With timely provision of information which is already available with the Department to taxpayers, the government aims to avoid reporting mistakes and enhance the ease of filing income tax returns.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.