The Indian Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) launched a Compliance and Awareness Campaign on Saturday, 16 November 2024, to ensure resident taxpayers fully disclose foreign income in their income tax returns (ITRs) for the Assessment Year (AY) 2024-2025.
The campaign’s goal is to ensure taxpayers accurately complete the “Schedule Foreign Assets” section, particularly for those with high-value foreign assets. The CBDT is using technology and data from the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) system to streamline the process.
The Income Tax Department has also warned that failure to disclose foreign assets or income could result in a penalty of up to INR 10 lakh under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.
As part of the campaign, the CBDT will send SMS and email notifications to resident taxpayers who have already filed their ITRs for AY 2024-25. These messages will target individuals identified through data exchanged under bilateral and multilateral agreements, indicating they may hold foreign accounts or assets or have earned income from foreign sources.
Taxpayers are advised to consider revising their ITRs by 31 December 2024.
