FM Unveils 6-Month Foreign Asset Disclosure Scheme for Taxpayers

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a six-month foreign asset disclosure scheme to encourage voluntary compliance and provide relief for genuine oversights.
• The scheme allows taxpayers to declare undisclosed foreign assets and regularize their tax position without prosecution.
• It targets small taxpayers, including students, young professionals, and relocated NRIs, who may have made mistakes due to lack of awareness.
• Two categories are covered: (A) non-disclosing taxpayers with income/assets up to 1 crore rupees, paying 30% tax and 30% additional tax for immunity; (B) partially compliant taxpayers with assets up to 5 crore rupees, paying a 1 lakh rupee fee for immunity from penalty and prosecution.
• Experts view this as a pragmatic clean-up move to improve compliance and data visibility before stricter enforcement.

Why It Matters: FM introduces a 6-month foreign asset disclosure scheme for taxpayers to regularize overseas holdings with reduced penalties.