Swiss Bank Details of HSBC Account Holders To be Shared with Indian Authorities

Bern, February 5: In the latest development, Switzerland will transfer account details of Indians holding their accounts in HSBC bank. The individual account holders around six weeks ago received communication from the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) to provide their written consent and a Swiss address to receive notices, reported The Indian Express. The move was initiated as an Indian request for banking details fulfils the requirements specified in the double taxation agreement (DTA) signed by the two countries. The request also meets the requirement of the 2012 Federal Act on International Administrative Assistance. Swiss Banks Will Share Black Money Data With India By 2019, Says Piyush Goyal.

The French authorities in 2011, had given India a list of 628 Indians who held accounts in HSBC Private Bank in Switzerland. In 2015, it was revealed in Swiss Leaks, an investigation conducted by The Indian Express with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and French newspaper Le Monde that 1195 Indians hold accounts in Switzerland. The balance in these accounts amounted to Rs 25,420 crore for the year 2006-07. Indian Money in Swiss Banks Up by 50% in 2017 to Rs 7000 Crore.

The process of transferring the account details was set in motion after an August 2018 order of the Federal Court of Switzerland in Lausanne. The Federal court rejected the petition of two Indian HSBC account holders challenging any transfer of account details to India on the grounds. Indian account holders received communication of providing their details to the Swiss authorities and also to sign an agreement to transfer account details to India.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 05, 2019 04:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).