Revised Indo-Swiss taxation treaty comes into effect

Geneva/New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) The amended Indo-Swiss
taxation treaty has come into effect, a development that will
allow India to seek specific information on black money and
tax evasion cases dating back to January this year.
The revised taxation pact between the two countries came
into force on Monday at a time when the black money issue has
triggered an intense political debate in India.
The Swiss Federal Department of Finance said the revised
double taxation agreement with India in the area of taxes on
income and capital entered into force on Monday.
"It contains provisions on the exchange of information in
accordance with international standards applicable at
present," it said in a statement.
The treaty would be applicable in Switzerland on income
originating in tax years starting on or after January 1, 2012.
When it comes to the exchange of information, the
provisions in the treaty would "apply to information referring
to tax years which start on or after January 1, 2011".
The revised treaty would allow India to seek information
on cases related to tax evasion. Under the earlier pact, India
could only seek bank details in relation to tax fraud cases.
"The provisions of the agreement will apply in India to
income originating in tax years which start on or after April
1, 2012," the statement added.
The treaty will contribute to further the positive
development of bilateral economic relations, it said.
The revised treaty was approved by Swiss Parliament on
June 17. As per Swiss rules, bilateral tax treaties are
subject to public scrutiny for a period of 100 days, which
ended on October 6. India had inked the agreement with
Switzerland to revise the treaty in August, 2010.
The latest data from the Swiss National Bank shows that
the total deposits of Indian individuals and companies in
Swiss banks stood at about USD 2.5 billion at the end of 2010.
PTI RAM