Bare Acts

CHAPTER VI TAX COMPLIANCE FOR UNDISCLOSED FOREIGN INCOME AND ASSETS


59. Declaration of undisclosed foreign asset.—Subject to the provisions of this Chapter, any person
may make, on or after the date of commencement of this Act but on or before a date to be notified by the
Central Government in the Official Gazette, a declaration in respect of any undisclosed asset located
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outside India and acquired from income chargeable to tax under the Income-tax Act for any assessment
year prior to the assessment year beginning on 1st day of April, 2016—
(a) for which he has failed to furnish a return under section 139 of the Income-tax Act;
(b) which he has failed to disclose in a return of income furnished by him under the Income-tax
Act before the date of commencement of this Act;
(c) which has escaped assessment by reason of the omission or failure on the part of such person
to make a return under the Income-tax Act or to disclose fully and truly all material facts necessary
for the assessment or otherwise.
60. Charge of tax.—Notwithstanding anything contained in the Income-tax Act or in any Finance
Act, the undisclosed asset located outside India and declared under section 59 within the time specified
therein shall be chargeable to tax at the rate of thirty per cent. of value of such undisclosed asset on the
date of commencement of this Act.
61. Penalty.—Notwithstanding anything contained in the Income-tax Act or in any Finance Act, the
person making a declaration of undisclosed asset located outside India shall, in addition to tax charged
under section 60, be liable to penalty at the rate of one hundred per cent. of such tax.
62. Manner of declaration.—(1) A declaration under section 59 shall be made to the Principal
Commissioner or the Commissioner and shall be in such form and shall be verified in such manner as
may be prescribed.
(2) The declaration shall be signed,—
(i) where the declarant is an individual, by the individual himself; where such individual is absent
from India, by the individual concerned or by some person duly authorised by him in this behalf; and
where the individual is mentally incapacitated from attending to his affairs, by his guardian or by any
other person competent to act on his behalf;
(ii) where the declarant is a Hindu undivided family, by the karta, and where the karta is absent
from India or is mentally incapacitated from attending to his affairs, by any other adult member of
such family;
(iii) where the declarant is a company, by the managing director thereof, or where for any
unavoidable reason such managing director is not able to sign the declaration or where there is no
managing director, by any director thereof;
(iv) where the declarant is a firm, by the managing partner thereof, or where for any unavoidable
reason such managing partner is not able to sign the declaration, or where there is no managing
partner as such, by any partner thereof, not being a minor;
(v) where the declarant is any other association, by any member of the association or the principal
officer thereof; and
(vi) where the declarant is any other person, by that person or by some other person competent to
act on his behalf.
(3) Any person, who has made a declaration under sub-section (1) in respect of his asset or as a
representative assessee in respect of the asset of any other person, shall not be entitled to make any other
declaration, under that sub-section in respect of his asset or the asset of such other person, and any such
other declaration, if made, shall be deemed to be void.
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63. Time for payment of tax.—(1) The tax payable under section 60 and penalty payable under
section 61 in respect of the undisclosed asset located outside India, shall be paid on or before a date to be
notified by the Central Government in the Official Gazette.
(2) The declarant shall file the proof of payment of tax and penalty on or before the date notified
under sub-section (1), with the Principal Commissioner or the Commissioner before whom the
declaration under section 59 was made.
(3) If the declarant fails to pay the tax in respect of the declaration made under section 59 on or before
the date notified under sub-section (1), the declaration filed by him shall be deemed never to have been
made under this Chapter.
64. Undisclosed foreign asset declared not to be included in total income.—The amount of
undisclosed investment in an asset located outside India declared in accordance with section 59 shall not
be included in the total income of the declarant for any assessment year under the Income-tax Act, if the
declarant makes the payment of tax referred to in section 60 and the penalty referred to in section 61 by
the date notified under sub-section (1) of section 63.
65. Undisclosed foreign asset declared not to affect finality of completed assessments.—The
declarant shall not be entitled, in respect of undisclosed asset located outside India declared or any
amount of tax paid thereon, to reopen any assessment or reassessment made under the Income-tax Act or
the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 (27 of 1957) or claim any set off or relief in any appeal, reference or other
proceeding in relation to any such assessment or reassessment.
66. Tax in respect of voluntarily disclosed asset not refundable.—Any amount of tax paid under
section 60 or penalty paid under section 61 in pursuance of a declaration made under section 59 shall not
be refundable.
67. Declaration not admissible in evidence against declarant.—Notwithstanding anything
contained in any other law for the time being in force, nothing contained in any declaration made under
section 59 shall be admissible in evidence against the declarant for the purpose of any proceeding relating
to imposition of penalty, other than the penalty leviable under section 61, or for the purposes of
prosecution under the Income-tax Act or the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 (27 of 1957) or the Foreign Exchange
Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999) or the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013) or the Customs Act, 1962
(52 of 1962) .
68. Declaration by misrepresentation of facts to be void.—Notwithstanding anything contained in
this Chapter, where a declaration has been made by misrepresentation or suppression of facts, such
declaration shall be void and shall be deemed never to have been made under this Chapter.
69. Exemption from wealth-tax in respect of assets specified in declaration.—(1) Where the
undisclosed asset located outside India is represented by cash (including bank deposits), bullion or any
other assets specified in the declaration made under section 59—
(a) in respect of which the declarant has failed to furnish a return under section 14 of the
Wealth-tax Act, 1957 (27 of 1957) for the assessment year commencing on or before the 1st day of
April, 2015; or
(b) which have not been shown in the return of net wealth furnished by him for the said
assessment year or years; or
(c) which have been understated in value in the return of net wealth furnished by him for the said
assessment year or years,
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then, notwithstanding anything contained in the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 (27 of 1957) or any rules made
thereunder,—
(I) wealth-tax shall not be payable by the declarant in respect of the assets referred to in clause (a) or
clause (b) and such assets shall not be included in his net wealth for the said assessment year or years;
(II) the amount by which the value of the assets referred to in clause (c) has been understated in the
return of net wealth for the said assessment year or years, to the extent such amount does not exceed the
voluntarily disclosed income utilised for acquiring such assets, shall not be taken into account in
computing the net wealth of the declarant for the said assessment year or years.
Explanation.—Where a declaration under section 59 is made by a firm, the assets referred to in
clause (I) or, as the case may be, the amount referred to in clause (II) shall not be taken into account in
computing the net wealth of any partner of the firm or, as the case may be, in determining the value of the
interest of any partner in the firm.
(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply unless the conditions specified in
sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 63 are fulfilled by the declarant.
70. Applicability of certain provisions of Income-tax Act and of Chapter V of Wealth-tax Act.—
The provisions of Chapter XV of the Income-tax Act relating to liability in special cases and of section
189 of that Act or of Chapter V of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 (27 of 1957) relating to liability to
assessment in special cases shall, so far as may be, apply in relation to proceedings under this Chapter as
they apply in relation to proceedings under the Income-tax Act or, as the case may be, the Wealth-tax Act.
71. Chapter not to apply to certain persons.—The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply—
(a) to any person in respect of whom an order of detention has been made under the Conservation
of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (52 of 1974):
Provided that—
(i) such order of detention, being an order to which the provisions of section 9 or section 12A
of the said Act do not apply, has not been revoked on the report of the Advisory Board under
section 8 of the said Act or before the receipt of the report of the Advisory Board; or
(ii) such order of detention, being an order to which the provisions of section 9 of the said Act
apply, has not been revoked before the expiry of the time for, or on the basis of, the review under
sub-section (3) of section 9, or on the report of the Advisory Board under section 8, read with
sub-section (2) of section 9, of the said Act; or
(iii) such order of detention, being an order to which the provisions of section 12A of the said
Act apply, has not been revoked before the expiry of the time for, or on the basis of, the first
review under sub-section (3) of that section, or on the basis of the report of the Advisory Board
under section 8, read with sub-section (6) of section 12A, of the said Act; or
(iv) such order of detention has not been set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction;
(b) in relation to prosecution for any offence punishable under Chapter IX or Chapter XVII of the
Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985
(61 of 1985), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967), the Prevention of
Corruption Act, 1988 (49 of 1988);
(c) to any person notified under section 3 of the Special Court (Trial of Offences Relating to
Transactions in Securities) Act, 1992 (27 of 1992).
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(d) in relation to any undisclosed asset located outside India which has been acquired from
income chargeable to tax under the Income-tax Act for any previous year relevant to an assessment
year prior to the assessment year beginning on the 1st day of April, 2016—
(i) where a notice under section 142 or sub-section (2) of section 143 or section 148 or
section 153A or section 153C of the Income-tax Act has been issued in respect of such
assessment year and the proceeding is pending before the Assessing Officer; or
(ii) where a search has been conducted under section 132 or requisition has been made under
section 132A or a survey has been carried out under section 133A of the Income-tax Act in a
previous year and a notice under sub-section (2) of section 143 for the assessment year relevant to
such previous year or a notice under section 153A or under section 153C of the said Act for an
assessment year relevant to any previous year prior to such previous year has not been issued and
the time for issuance of such notice has not expired; or
(iii) where any information has been received by the competent authority under an agreement
entered into by the Central Government under section 90 or section 90A of the Income-tax Act in
respect of such undisclosed asset.
Explanation.—For the purpose of this sub-clause asset shall include a bank account whether
having any balance or not.
72. Removal of doubts.—For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that—
(a) save as otherwise expressly provided in the Explanation to sub-section (1) of section 69,
nothing contained in this Chapter shall be construed as conferring any benefit, concession or
immunity on any person other than the person making the declaration under this Chapter;
(b) where any declaration has been made under section 59 but no tax and penalty has been paid
within the time specified under section 60 and section 61, the value of such asset shall be chargeable
to tax under this Act in the previous year in which such declaration is made;
(c) where any asset has been acquired or made prior to commencement of this Act, and no
declaration in respect of such asset is made under this Chapter, such asset shall be deemed to have
been acquired or made in the year in which a notice under section 10 is issued by the Assessing
Officer and the provisions of this Act shall apply accordingly. 

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