Tax information exchange pact signed with Argentina

New Delhi: India has signed a tax information exchange agreement with Argentina. This is the tenth such pact in the past three years.

This pact with Argentina would enable Indian tax authorities to obtain specific information, including banking related, on tax evasion cases.

The other such pacts signed by India are with the Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Jersey, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Liberia and Macau.

The tax pacts with Argentina, Jersey, Guernsey, Liberia and Macau have not yet entered into force, the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

India has also entered into new double taxation avoidance agreements with Colombia, Ethiopia, Lithuania, Uruguay and Estonia. These, too, have not yet entered into force, Mr Mukherjee said.

He said that India had renegotiated double taxation avoidance pacts with Australia, Nepal and Norway, but all these had not come into force.

On information from the French Government regarding accounts in one of the Swiss banks, the Minister said that although the tax had not been assessed or demand raised yet, some persons had paid taxes of Rs 181 crore so far.

Action in accordance with the provisions of direct tax laws, including levy of penalty and initiation of prosecution, is taken in all such cases after the assessments are completed, he added.

German connection
With regard to information from the German Government regarding Indian taxpayers' accounts with LGT Bank in Liechtenstein, Mr Mukherjee said assessments had been made against 18 individual cases, being beneficiaries of the said trusts/entities. Out of these 18 taxpayers, one had passed away. Prosecution has been launched against the other 17 taxpayers.

He said the total assessed income stood at Rs 39.66 crore and a total demand of Rs 24.26 crore was raised in these cases. Penalty proceedings for concealment of income have been separately initiated in all these cases.