Black money: India pulls out of int,l info sharing pact
The Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement, signed by 51 countries, enables automatic information sharing between the signatory countries.
NEW DELHI: A day after the central government submitted a list of black money account holders to the Supreme Court, India pulled out of a multilateral information sharing agreement, CNN IBN reports.
The government move is surprising considering that the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement, signed by 51 countries in Berlin on Wednesday, enables automatic information sharing between the signatory countries.
The agreement also would provide for collecting, exchanging information on tax payers' overseas assets.
The report adds that an uncertainty over the ability to comply with confidentiality clause of the agreement led to the government move.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi Wednesday submitted three sets of documents, containing the list of 627 people having illegal accounts in foreign banks, to the Supreme Court in a sealed cover.
The government also submitted a status report in a sealed cover.
The apex court said only SIT chairman and vice chairman can open the seal and asked the investigating agency to submit the status report of its probe by November-end. The apex court allowed the Centre to put forth its grievances regarding various treaties with foreign countries before the SIT.
The Supreme Court had earlier on Tuesday reprimanded the Centre after the latter released the names of just three account holders on Monday and asked it to release the names of all the people who have stashed away black money in foreign banks. (With inputs from agencies)
Gold Worth Rs 70,000 crore Shipped to India From Switzerland
As the Narendra Modi government steps up its effort to crack down on black money, the quantity of gold shipped from Switzerland to India has reached a record level of about Rs 70,000 crore.
According to the latest data released by Swiss Customs Administration, the gold exports from Switzerland to India was worth about Rs 15,000 crore in September, which is twice as compared to the previous month. Although industry experts attribute this sudden surge to an increase in demand for gold due to Diwali, this also being seen as a way to move funds from Swiss banks to India.
As per Swiss government data, the total exports of gold, silver and coins from Switzerland stood at 347 tonnes (worth 6.62 billion Swiss francs) in September. This also includes gold exports worth 172.5 tonnes.
Many Swiss banks are also asking their Indian clients to sign undertakings to 'derisk' the banks from potential risks due to regulatory actions against the clients.
Switzerland had recently agreed to cooperate in verification of genuineness of accounts and provide banking account details. It had also agreed to initiate a process to include India among the countries eligible for 'automatic exchange of information.'