NEW DELHI: With deposits by Indians in Swiss banks surging, Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal today wondered how all of it can be assumed to be black money, but said strong action would be taken against anyone found guilty of wrongdoing.
India would start getting details of bank accounts from Switzerland under a bilateral treaty, he said.
The agreement for automatic exchange of information was signed between Switzerland and India last November under which both countries would start collecting data in accordance with the global standards in 2018 and exchange it from 2019, Goyal told reporters here on the sidelines of an Institute of Cost Accountants of India event.
Money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose over 50 per cent to CHF 1.01 billion (Rs 7,000 crore) in 2017, reversing a three-year downward trend amid India's clampdown on suspected black money stashed there.
In comparison, the total funds held by all foreign clients of Swiss banks rose about 3 per cent to CHF 1.46 trillion or about Rs 100 lakh crore in 2017, according to data released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), the central banking authority of the Alpine nation.
India would get data as the accounting year ends, Goyal said.
Referring to the rise in Swiss bank deposits by Indians, Goyal said, "The data that you alluded to will come to us, so how are you assuming that this is black money or this is illegal transaction?" Around 40 per cent of this money is because of the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), Goyal said, citing media reports.
The scheme was introduced by former Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
Under the LRS, an individual could remit up to USD 2,50,000 per year.
"We will have all information. If someone is found guilty, the government will take strong action against them," Goyal said.
Over the last three years among the measures taken by the Indian government to combat black money include the enactment of Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, the Income Declaration Scheme in 2016 and the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana last year.
(With PTI, IANS inputs)