India has recently acquired a new tranche of financial information from Swiss bank accounts belonging to its citizens and various organizations. This data exchange is part of an annual, automatic information-sharing agreement, wherein Switzerland has disclosed details from approximately 3.6 million financial accounts to 104 countries.

This marks the fifth consecutive year of information exchange between India and Switzerland. Officials have disclosed that the recently shared data includes data pertaining to hundreds of financial accounts. This encompasses numerous instances of multiple accounts linked to individuals, corporations, and trusts. The shared details encompass vital information such as identification data, account particulars, and financial data, including names, addresses, countries of residence, tax identification numbers, as well as information about the reporting financial institution, account balances, and capital income.

While the officials have refrained from disclosing the precise monetary value involved in this exchange, they cite the confidentiality clause governing information sharing as the reason for their discretion. They emphasize that this data will be instrumental in the investigation of suspected tax evasion and other illicit activities, including money laundering and terrorism financing. The exchange of information transpired last month, with Switzerland scheduled to provide another set of data in September 2024, according to officials.

The information shared through this exchange enables tax authorities to verify whether taxpayers have accurately declared their financial accounts in their tax filings.

In an announcement from the Swiss capital, Berne, the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) stated on Monday that it has executed information exchanges on financial accounts with 104 countries, adhering to the global standard on the Automatic Exchange Of Information (AEOI).

Notably, this year's update included the addition of Kazakhstan, the Maldives, and Oman to the existing list of 101 countries. This resulted in a substantial increase in the count of financial accounts exchanged, totaling nearly two hundred thousand additional accounts.

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