Attention taxpayers! Foreign income and assets must be disclosed before December 31: Report

Ravi Agarwal, the chairman of CBDT said taxpayers who haven't disclosed their foreign income or assets in their ITRs have time till December 31 to do so

Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes Ravi Agarwal has said that taxpayers who haven't disclosed their foreign income or assets in their Income Tax Returns (ITRs) have time till December 31 to do so, according to a Business Standard report.

The income tax department is also in the process of sending SMS and emails to those who haven't disclosed high-value assets

The income tax department is also in the process of sending SMSes and emails to those who haven't disclosed high-value assets, the report said.

Agarwal said the tax department gets all the details about foreign assets from nations under the automatic exchange of information.

“The basic intent is to remind taxpayers to declare foreign assets,” the report quoted him as saying at the inauguration of the Taxpayers Lounge at the India International Trade Fair (IITF) in New Delhi. "They can file revised returns by December 31.”

These foreign assets include foreign bank accounts, foreign cash value insurance, financial interest in any business/entity, immovable property outside India, foreign equity or debt interest, accounts in which an assessee has signing authority, and any other capital assets, according to the report.

This comes after the department cautioned taxpayers on Sunday that not disclosing assets held abroad or income earned from foreign shores in the ITR can lead to a penalty of ₹10 lakh under the anti-black money law.