TMI BlogExchange of Information for Tax Purpose with Foreign Jurisdictions – Guidelines for inbound and outbound requestsX X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rmation in conformity with the relevant provisions of the DTAAs/TIEAs/Multilateral Agreements, if they are of the view that information received from a foreign jurisdiction would be helpful in assessment and determination of income, collection and recovery of taxes, investigation of tax matters or prosecution in relation to tax matters. The guidelines for making such requests have been provided in the Manual on Exchange of Information (hereinafter referred to as Manual), a copy of which is enclosed. 3. As stated in the Manual, the request for information from tax authorities of the foreign jurisdictions with which India has entered into DTAAs/TIEAs/Multilateral Agreements, should be routed through the Competent Authority, i.e., JS(FT TR-I), CBDT, in case of North America (including countries of Central America and Caribbean), Europe and Japan and JS(FT TR-II), CBDT, in case of rest of the world (Refer Annexure-A of the Manual for identifying the Competent Authority). This reference should be made in a prescribed Proforma (Annexure-D of the Manual) and sent to JS (FT TR-I) or JS (FT TR-II) as the case maybe, by the Commissioner of Income Tax or Director of Income Tax concerned, unde ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ange of Information is being received from foreign jurisdictions under the DTAAs by the Competent Authority. Such information is being forwarded to field formations as per the procedure laid down in the Manual. Officers concerned are expected to send a feedback on usefulness of the information as per Proforma prescribed in Annexure-I of the Manual. The first feedback should be provided within two months of receipt of the information by the officers concerned. If on verification of the information, it is found that the information is useful for tax purposes, supplementary report in Annexure-I should be sent by the officers concerned whenever new developments take place, such as completion of assessments, collection of taxes, levy of penalty, Initiation of prosecution proceedings, etc. The DGIT (Systems) shall facilitate online dissemination and feedback in respect of the information/data by providing the necessary platform. 9. Where information received, either under Automatic Exchange of Information or Spontaneous Exchange of Information is likely to result in an undisclosed income below Rs. 50,000, considering the smallness of revenue involved, the officer concerned may not conduc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nts for Exchanging Information. 1.2 The need for effective co-operation amongst jurisdictions with consequent defensive measures against non-cooperative offshore jurisdictions was felt even more after the 2008 global financial crisis in order to tax revenues through co-ordinated global efforts. India has been a strong proponent of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes and is playing a major role in international forums to exert pressures on countries that do not confirm to the international standards of transparency. These global efforts have resulted in many countries/jurisdictions coming on board and they are now willing to cooperate with other jurisdictions for exchanging information as per internationally agreed standards. 1.3 Simultaneously and along with the global efforts, effective steps have been taken in the last three years for creating an appropriate legislative framework for receiving and effectively utilizing of the information received from foreign jurisdictions. These steps include renegotiating the existing DTAAs to update the provisions on exchange of information to the internationally agreed standards including enabling India to receive bankin ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng manner. After Introduction in the present Chapter, the legislative framework of Exchange of Information and other forms of Administrative Assistance under India's DTAAs and TIEAs have been explained in Chapter-II. Chapter-III provides the guidelines and the Proforma which the field formations should follow while making any specific request from foreign tax administrators. Chapter-IV provides the guidelines to be followed in case a request is received from abroad, which is equally important as all the tax treaties are bilateral and if India want to continue receiving assistance India must provide assistance to them timely and efficiently. Chapter-V provides the guidelines in case of requests made/received under the provisions of Assistance in Collection of Taxes while Chapter-VI discusses other forms of administrative assistance under the treaties such as Automatic and Spontaneous Exchange of Information, Tax Examination Abroad, Simultaneous Examination and Joint Audits. Chapter-VII provides guidelines for utilization of information received from a foreign jurisdiction including providing of regular feedback while in Chapter-VIII, necessity to maintain strict confidentiality ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f every kind. The text of Article 26 of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital and its Commentary (as updated by OECD on 17th July, 2012), http://www.oecd.org/ctp/exchangeofinformation/latestdocuments/120718_Articles%2026-ENG_no%20cover%20(2).pdf and Article 26 of the UN Model Double Taxation Convention between Developed and Developing Countries and its Commentary (2011 version), http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/documents/UN_Model_2011_Update.pdf are publically available. Article 26 in India's DTAAs is modelled on the basis of the above with some minor differences in individual DTAAs. 2.2.2 In 2005, in the OECD Model Tax Convention, two new paragraphs have been added. The new paragraph 4 provides the obligation to exchange information in situations where the requested information is not needed by the requested State for its domestic tax purposes while the new paragraph 5 stipulates that a Contracting State shall not decline to supply information to a treaty partner solely because the information is held by a bank or other financial institutions. The UN Model Tax Convention also inserted these two paragraphs. India's older DTAAs did not include these two new paragra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... xpanding its scope which provides that the information received by a Contracting State may be used for other purposes when such information may be used for such other purposes under the laws of both States and the competent authority of the supplying State authorizes such use. Since as a matter of policy, India prefers that exchanged information may be shared with other Government agencies, in all new DTAAs as also renegotiated DTAAs, this sentence or similar sentence are being included, which essentially means that most of the new DTAAs as well as renegotiated DTAAs have provisions which allow sharing of information with other law enforcement agencies with the authorization of the supplying State. This also stipulates that information received under the provisions of DTAAs/TIEAs cannot be shared with other agencies unless India's treaty partner specifically authorizes such sharing. 2.2.6 The July 2012 update of the OECD Model Convention has clarified that a group request for information can also be made under Article 26. Thus, it would be possible to request information on a group of taxpayers, without naming them individually, as long as the request is not a fishing expeditio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... axes by them beyond the boundaries of their country with the assistance of other countries. As of now, the Article on Assistance in Tax Collection is present in 32 of India's84 DTAAs, which are Estonia, Lithuania, Norway, Botswana, Romania, Denmark, Poland, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Sweden, South Africa, Belarus, Trinidad and Tobago, Jordan, Czech Republic, Morocco, Portuguese Republic, Belgium, Kyrgyz Republic, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Uganda, Sudan, Armenia, Iceland, Tajikistan, Luxembourg, Qatar, Mexico, Uruguay, Mozambique and Georgia. 22.8 It may, however, be noted that while the matter of administrative assistance for the purposes of tax collection is dealt with in Article 27, exchange of information for the purposes of tax collection are governed by Article 26. 2.3 Tax Information Exchange Agreements 2.3.1 The basic legal framework for Exchange of Information under TIEAs is provided in Article 5: Exchange of Information Upon Request . which obliges the competent authority of the requested Party to provide information that is foreseeably relevant to the administration and enforcement of the domestic laws of the Contracting Parties concerning taxes covered by the Agreement. In ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to the call of G20 countries for a global instrument to fight international tax evasion and avoidance, the Convention was opened for signature of other countries also. India is the first country outside the block of OECD and European Council to ratify this Multilateral Convention. As on 31.10.2012, 42 countries have signed the Convention and for 16 countries, it has entered into force. Some of the countries, such as Ghana and Tunisia, which have signed the Multilateral Convention, do not have DTAA/TIEA with India and thus the Multilateral Convention extends India's treaty network for the purposes of Exchange of Information. 2.5.2 The Parties to the Convention are obliged to provide wide range of administrative assistance to each other subject to the reservations made by them, if any. These include exchange of information on request, automatic exchange of information, spontaneous exchange of information, simultaneous tax examinations, tax examination abroad, assistance in recovery, service of documents etc. Thus, the Multilateral Convention provides an additional instrument for receiving administrative assistance from foreign jurisdictions having scope wider than DTAAs and TIEA ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... isdiction, competent authorities must have access to the information, and there must be a legal basis for exchanging the information with other countries. These standards have been developed with the underlying concept that exchange of information for tax purposes is effective when reliable information, foreseeably relevant to the tax requirements of a requesting jurisdiction is available, or can be made available, in a timely manner and there are legal mechanisms that enable the information to be obtained and exchanged. Thus, the transparency and exchange of information embraces three basic components availability of information e.g. with tax authorities, public registries, money laundering authorities, banks etc. appropriate access to the information by way of legislative and administrative powers in the hands of the authorities the existence of exchange of information mechanisms by way of DTAAs/TIEAs etc. 2.7.3 If any of these three elements are missing, information exchange will not be effective and jurisdictions will not be able to enforce their own laws effectively. For the purposes of assessing jurisdictions' implementation of these standards a two stage peer review proc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... g international standards of information exchange and feedback/clarifications from India's treaty partners, it has been decided to modify the Proforma in which information will be sought by the officers of the field formations. This Proforma is based on the template developed by OECD/Global Forum and is enclosed as Annexure-D, As per the domestic laws of some of the countries, such as United Kingdom. banking information can be provided only after application to Courts/Tribunals and in these cases, additional information, may need to be provided while making a request the details of which may be obtained from officers posted in the FT TR Division which also contain instructions/guidance in the form of Notes. The Officers in the field formations such as Assessing Officer or the officers of the Investigation Wing or CIT (A) carrying out investigation/enquiry must use this Proforma when they make a request for information from a foreign jurisdiction under the provisions of DTAAs/TIEAs/Multilateral Agreements. This Proforma should be forwarded to the Competent Authority with the signature of the CIT/DIT concerned and should be filled up in duplicate. 3.2 Reference to be Made Through ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t Authority, with a copy to the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax/Director General of Income Tax concerned. 3.2.4 Section 142(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, provides that for the purpose of obtaining full information in respect of the income or loss of any person, the Assessing Officer may make such inquiry as he considers necessary. The Income-tax Act empowers the Assessing Officer to obtain information from the foreign tax authorities under this provision in accordance with the DTAAs/TIEAs/Multilateral Agreements entered into by India. Section 142(3) provides that the assessee shall, except where the assessment is made under, section 144, be given an opportunity of being heard in respect of any material gathered on the basis of any inquiry under section 142(2) and proposed to be utilised for the purposes of the assessment and thus before making any addition, an opportunity of being heard must be provided to the assessee. 3.2.5 The list of officers with their contact details posted in the office of the Competent Authority is enclosed as per Annexure-E. If field officers need any (clarification before making the request or during follow up procedures, they may contact these officer ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a family have received gifts from persons located in three different jurisdictions, the total number of Proformas to be filled in would be nine. 3.3.4 Language of the Request for Information : The information which is sought has to be specific and should be described in greatest detail possible. The language should be simple and easily understandable to foreign tax authorities who may not be aware of India's tax laws and procedures. The questions should be framed in such a manner that it can be answered by the foreign tax authorities directly and the details requested should be specific. Thus, if inquiry relates to gifts from a foreign jurisdiction, the request should not be general (for example asking the foreign authorities to verify the creditworthiness of the donor). Such a request would not be understood by the foreign tax authorities. If the tax officer wishes to establish the credit worthiness of the donor, the request for information should be specific and details such as Income Tax Return of the donor or its bank accounts for the relevant period or details of assets owned by him etc. should be asked. Further, the language of the request should not offend other countrie ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ries. 3.3.7 Taxes Covered : The Exchange of Information Article in most of India's DTAAs state that the information exchange applies to taxes of every kind and description and goes on to state that the exchange is not limited by Article 2 (Taxes covered). Thus, under the DTAAs, requests regarding other taxes, such as details of sales tax liability or VAT may be requested. In some of DTAAs, the Exchange of Information is restricted to the taxes covered under the Agreement only (e.g. income tax and wealth tax). In the TIEAs the taxes which are covered are listed and information may be requested for those taxes. In the Multilateral Convention countries have specified the list of taxes where they will be providing the assistance (see para 2.4.2 above) and thus the requests may be made for those taxes. 3.3.8 Time Period or Taxable Event and the Period of Limitation: 3.3.8.1 While making a request, the time period or taxable event (e.g. the date on which withholding tax is imposed) needs to be specified. 3.3.8.2 It may be noted that under a DTAA, the request for information can be made concerning information that existed prior to the entry into force of the DTAA, as long as the assis ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sistance related to taxable periods beginning on or after I January of the year following the one in which the Convention entered into force in respect of a Party, or where there is no taxable period (e.g. for withholding taxes), for administrative assistance related to charges to tax arising on or after 1 January of the year following the one in which the Convention entered into force in respect of a Party. However, for tax matters involving intentional conduct which is liable to prosecution under the criminal laws of the applicant Party, that is, the criminal tax matters, the provisions of the Multilateral Convention shall have effect from the date of their entry into force in respect of a Party in relation to earlier taxable periods or charges to tax. 3.3.8.6 The SAARC Limited Multilateral Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters came into force on 19th May, 2010 and the provisions of the said Agreement were given effect to India with effect from 1st April, 2011. The signatories of the Agreement are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, an Exchange of Information request can be made under this Agr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fishing expedition would include, for instance, request for details of al} the bank accounts of all residents of the requesting State maintained in the banks of the requested State or details of all shareholders resident of requesting State of a company located in requested State. Hence, the requests made should be specific. 3.3.9.3 It has been clarified in the July, 2012 update to Article 26 by the OECD that the standard of foreseeable relevance requires that at the time a request is made there is a reasonable possibility that the requested information will be relevant; whether the information, once provided, actually proves to be relevant is immaterial. Thus, the requested State may therefore not decline requests in cases where a definite assessment of the pertinence of the information to an ongoing investigation can only be made following the receipt of the information. The commentary further states that the competent authorities should consult in situations in which the content of the request, the circumstances that led to the request, or the foreseeable relevance of requested information are not clear to the requested State. However, once the requesting State has provided an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nation or investigation, should be included, if necessary as Annexures. It should be explained in great detail as to why the information which has been requested from a foreign tax authority is required for the purpose of administration and enforcement of domestic tax laws. If required, additional supporting information may be attached separately as appropriate. Copies of documents available with the tax authorities may be attached for the assistance of foreign tax authorities. For instance, if during a search operation, a paper is seized which records the bank account number, a copy of the seized document may be attached in addition to listing the bank account number separately. This will enable the foreign tax authorities to look for further clues available in the seized material and they will be able to provide better assistance to us. It may, however, be ensured that only the most relevant documents should be attached so as not to make it unnecessarily voluminous. For example, there may not be a need to attach copies of assessment orders etc. and only their extracts/main points etc. should be included as part of the background note. 3.3.11 Tax Purpose Criminal Investigation: Th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eed international standards, the Contracting States/Parties are obliged to exchange information which is held by the jurisdiction or is within the possession or control of persons within the jurisdiction's territorial jurisdiction. This creates a limitation of exchanged information in multi-level investigation involving entities located in more than one jurisdiction. For instance, if a request is made to jurisdiction A to provide ownership information of a company resident in A, and if it gives the information that the owners of company are residents in country B, then further enquiry will have to be made from county B to identify the next level of ownership. Similar enqui1Y may be necessitated in case of flow of funds. Thus, in many cases, complete information may not be obtained through requests made to one jurisdiction and it may require follow up requests to other jurisdictions to take the investigation to its logical end. It is necessary that this must be done in all cases requiring multi-level enquiry. 3.3.17 Declarations: While making the request for any information from a foreign jurisdiction, the following should be ensured, including confidentiality which is a major c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... formation relates to this examination or investigation, should be included, if necessary as Annexures. In some cases, multi-level enquiry from a number of jurisdictions, may become necessary and follow up requests need to be made for taking the investigation to its logical end Following declaration should be made (a) the information received will be kept confidential (b) the request is in conformity with domestic laws and administrative practices and the agreement, (c) information would be available under domestic laws and normal administrative practices and (d) all means available in India to obtain the information, except which may give rise to disproportionate difficulties have been pursued. 3.4 Information which may be Exchanged on Request 3.4.1 Introduction Under the Exchange of Information Article in the DTAAs/TIEAs/Multilateral Convention, a country/jurisdiction is obliged to provide a variety of information when a request for the same is made by its treaty partner. This include information relating to ownership of entities, copies of tax returns, banking information, accounting information, transfer pricing information, copies of contracts/agreements, copies of invoices, et ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... has claimed the expenditure correctly, both on revenue account for claim of expenditure for the purposes of business or on capital account for claim of depreciation Banking information (held by banks or other financial institutions) including all records pertaining to the accounts as well as to related financial and transactional statements Tax returns filed by the taxpayer under examination or the related foreign party. For instance, if loan/gift is received from a foreign entity, the tax returns of the concerned entity may be examined for the credit worthiness Information regarding taxes paid by an Indian taxpayer in a foreign country for giving proper credits of taxes paid abroad In cases of payments made to a foreign entity, e.g., by way of royalty, fees for technical services, interest, dividend etc., it may need to be examined the tax treatment of such payments in the foreign country including information regarding beneficial ownership Information from a foreign country for adjustments of the profits shown in the accounts of a permanent establishment in one State and in the accounts of head office in the other State In case of supply of goods to an independent company in a fo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n made through some intermediary, in that case the ledger account of the Indian taxpayer may not be available in the books of accounts of the foreign person and rather the ledger account of the intermediary may serve the purpose. Copy of the documents related to the remittance of the money. These documents may be obtained either from the taxpayer or form the banking undertakings. Source of Funds: The Investigating Officer may enquire in to the source of the funds of the foreign person by requesting the following information: The source of funds of the foreign concern for the investment in the securities of the Indian concern including a copy of the bank account of the foreign concern for specific period. The copy of the agreement entered in to by the foreign concern with the Indian concern, if any. Copy of the documents submitted by the foreign concerns with the regulatory agencies of the foreign entity regarding the investment in Indian company. 3.4.3 Exchange of Information for Carrying out Provisions of the DTAAs Under the DTAAs, double taxation is avoided through allocation of taxing rights between the Contracting States. To ensure that this allocation is made correctly, includ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... date to Article 26 of the OECD Model Tax Convention provides a number of examples clarifying which information can be exchanged as under: (a) A company in State A supplies goods to an independent company in State B. State A wishes to know from State B what price the company in State B paid for the goods with a view to a correct application of the provisions of its domestic laws. (b) A company in State A sells goods through a company in State C (possibly a low-tax country) to a company in State B. The companies may or may not be associated. There is no convention between State A and State C, nor between State B and State C. Under the convention between A and B, State A, with a view to ensuring the correct application of the provisions of its domestic laws to the profits made by the company situated in its territory, asks State B what price the company in State B paid for the goods. (c) State A, for the purpose of taxing a company situated in its territory, asks State B, under the convention between A and B, for information about the prices charged by a company in State B, or a group of companies in State 13 with which the company in State A has no business contacts in order to enabl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the requested information to its investigation and more generally to the administration and enforcement of its tax law. (g) Company A, resident of State A, is owned by foreign unlisted Company B, resident of State B. The tax authorities of State A suspect that managers X, Y and Z of Company A directly or indirectly own Company B. If that were the case, the dividends received by Company B from Company A would be taxable in their hands as resident shareholders under country A's controlled foreign company rules. The suspicion is based on information provided to State A's tax authorities by a former employee of Company A. When confronted with the allegations, the three managers of Company A deny having any ownership interest in Company B. The State A tax authorities have exhausted all domestic means of obtaining ownership information on Company B. State A now requests from State B information on whether X, Y and Z are shareholders of Company B. Furthermore, considering that ownership in such cases is often held through, for example, shell companies and nominee shareholders it requests information from State B on whether X, Y and Z indirectly hold an ownership interest in Comp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion request possesses substantial assets in the country (e.g. real estate, cash, and shares) that may indicate a tax liability in the requested country. 3.4.5 Limitations on Exchange of Information The Contracting States/Parties are not obliged to exchange information which are not foreseeable relevant for administration and enforcement of the domestic laws of the requesting State/Party. However, as stated earlier, if the requesting State provides an explanation as to the foreseeable relevance of the requested information, the requested State may not decline or withhold requested information because of belief that the information lacks relevance to the underlying investigation or examination. The July, 2012, update to Article 26 of the OECD Model Tax Convention provides illustrations of the situations where the Contracting States are not obliged to provide information in response to a request for information, assuming no further information is provided as under: (a) Bank B is a bank established in State B. State A taxes its residents on the basis of their worldwide income. The competent authority of State A requests that the competent authority of State B provide the names, date a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ission of further clarifications/additional information should be personally monitored by the Commissioner of Income Tax/Director of Income Tax concerned to ensure unavoidable delays. 3.6 Extension of Time Limit for Completing Assessments Through Finance Act, 2012, sections 153 and 153B have been amended to provide that in computing the period of limitation, the period commencing from the date on which a reference for exchange of information is made by an authority competent under the agreements referred to in sections 90 or 90A (i.e. DTAAs, TIEAs, Multilateral Convention) and ending with the date on which the information so requested is received by the Commissioner or a period of one year, whichever is less, shall be excluded, when a reference is made by the Assessing Officer. Further, the proviso to section 153 and 153B provides that where immediately after the exclusion of the aforesaid period, the period of limitation available to the Assessing Officer for making an order of assessment, reassessment or recomputation, as the case maybe, is less than sixty days, such remaining period shall be extended to sixty days and the aforesaid period of limitation shall be deemed to be exte ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... for bringing it in line with international standards and has been negotiating with its treaty partners to include the paragraph referred above in all its existing article on exchange of information. As on date, the said paragraph enabling the Competent Authority to share the information with other agencies. with the approval of the Supplying state, is available in the Agreements with the following countries: 1. Swiss Confederation 2. Norway 3. Nepal 4. Mozambique 5. Georgia 6. Estonia 7. Lithuania 8. Taiwan 9. Uzbekistan The revision of the aforesaid paragraph with many other treaty partners are in different stages viz, under-negotiation, negotiations completed awaiting signing of the agreement, signed but yet to be ratified by the other country etc. 3.8.4 In addition to the above, India has Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA) with the following countries are in force as on date: 1. Liberia 2. Cayman Islands 3. Bermuda 4. Bahamas 5. British Virgin Islands 6. Isle of Man 7. Jersey 8. Guernsey 9. Macau In all these TIEAs, there are provisions for sharing information for other purposes with the express consent of the Competent Authority of the Supplying State. In case of Liberi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ountry b) Does the information relate to taxes covered by the EOI instrument c) Does the information relate to tax years covered by the EOI instrument d) Is the information requested foreseeably relevant to an ongoing tax examination, investigation or inquiry e) Is the request detailed enough, that is, if there is sufficient background information provided to understand the request and if the information is sufficient to identify a taxpayer or group of taxpayers by name or otherwise etc. f) Is the request signed by the competent authority or its authorized representative 4.2.3 Forwarding to the Field Authorities: After the process of verification as stated above, the information available with the EOI Cell, for instance the requests for Permanent Account Number, is provided to the foreign tax authorities. However, in a large number of cases, assistance is required from field authorities and for this purpose, normally the requests are forwarded to the field authorities, through confidential letters as under: (a) If the information can be provided by accessing the central database of the Income Tax Department, for instance, the current address of taxpayer, the request is forwarded to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y directed to forward the information to the EOI Cell as per the following timeline Within fifteen days if the information is already available with the tax authorities, such as, tax returns Within thirty days, if the information can only be obtained after carrying out outside enquiries Informing within thirty days, if there are obstacles in obtaining information or if there are deficiencies in the request 4.2.5 Making Enquiries : Depending on the facts of the case, the officers of the field formations may make necessary enquiries using the statutory provisions of the Direct Taxes Laws. If the foreign tax authority requests for exemption from prior notification to the taxpayer or other persons concerned on the grounds that such notification may jeopardise/ undermine the outcome of the ongoing investigation or inquiry, information must be collected without informing the taxpayer. 4.2.6 Forwarding to the Foreign Tax Authorities : The information obtained by the field units. either by accessing its own records. or after conducting necessary enquiries, should be forwarded to the Competent Authority by the Commissioner of Income Tax/Director of Income Tax concerned. with a copy to their ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... about the exchange should also be provided. CHAPTER-V: ASSISTANCE IN COLLECTION OF TAXES 5.1 Request to a Foreign Country/Jurisdiction 5.1.1 International cooperation in tax administration matters may take many forms including assistance in tax collection. Taxpayers may have assets outside their country of residence, but tax authorities generally cannot go beyond their borders to take action to collect taxes. The provisions of Assistance in tax collection help the tax administrations to collect their tax due from the tax administrations of the other countries. Assistance in tax collection has an important deterrent effect, which in some countries may outweigh the benefit of tax debts actually recovered with the assistance of another country. Revenue claim in this context means: l. Amount of tax 2. Interest thereon 3. Related administrative fines 4. Related costs incidental to recovery 5.1.2 Provisions relating to Assistance in Tax Collection are optional in the DTAAs/TIEAs. However, as stated earlier, in para 2.2.7, India have provisions relating to Assistance in Tax Collection in India's DTAAs with as many as 32 of India's treaty partners. In addition, assistance in colle ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ection 222 and remit any sum so recovered to the Indian Competent Authority after deducting his expenses in connection with recovery proceedings. CHAPTER-VI: OTHER FORMS OF ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE 6.1 Introduction As seen earlier, the DTAAs/TIEAs/Multilateral Instruments entered into by India provides for a multitude of administrative assistance, in addition to the exchange of information in specific cases, discussed in Chapters-III and IV and assistance in collection of taxes, discussed in Chapter-V. These other forms of administrative assistance include (a) Automatic Exchange of Information (b) Spontaneous Exchange of Information (c) Tax Examination Abroad (d) Simultaneous Examination (e) Joint Audits India is both receiving and sending information under automatic exchange of information. It is also receiving information under spontaneous exchange of information. India's experience in tax examination abroad, simultaneous examination and joint audits is almost negligible but it is expected that in future, Indian tax officers will utilize these forms of administrative assistance more and more and thus these are briefly discussed in this Chapter. 6.2 What is Automatic Exchange ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... poses. India has taken a lead in making the automatic exchange of information as standards so that all countries start exchanging the information available with them regarding taxpayers of other countries voluntarily and on automatic basis. India's commitment to the exchanging information periodically was demonstrated by the speech of the Hon'ble Prime Minister during the Cannes Summit in November, 2011, where he stated the following G-20 countries should take the lead in agreeing to automatic exchange of tax related information with each other, irrespective of artificial distinctions such as present or past, tax evasion or tax fraud in the spirit of our London Summit that the era of bank secrecy is over. The above statement was quoted by the Hon'ble Finance Minister while replying the debate on adjournment motion on Black Money on 14th December, 2011. Further, during the recent G20 meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico, on 18-19 June, 2012, mainly due to India's insistence, the following line was included in the official communique: We welcome the OECD report on the practice of automatic information exchange. where we will continue to lead by example in implementing this pr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt Authority to the field units Matching of the data received from the foreign jurisdictions with India's own database and populating the PAN database with the information received Carrying out risk assessment and identifying the cases for scrutiny Feedback on utilization of information including additional revenues generated 6.5 What is Spontaneous Exchange of Information The Exchange of Information Articles in India's treaties also provide for Spontaneous Exchange of Information, for example in the case of a State having acquired through certain investigations, information which could be of interest to the other Contracting State. This may be contrasted with automatic exchange of information, which is systematic and periodic transmission of bulk taxpayer information by the source country to the resident country concerning various categories of income, such as dividends, interest, royalties, salaries, pensions etc. 6.6 Spontaneous Exchange of Information from Foreign Jurisdiction The Spontaneous Information, which may be available with a foreign tax administrator, is sent to its own Competent Authority, which passes it on its counterpart in India, that is JS(FT TR-I) and J ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... arch and seizure operations or other sensitive enquires being conducted by the Investigation Wing of the Department. In such cases, the information should be sent to the Competent Authority through Member (Investigation). 6.8 Tax Examination Abroad 6.8. I Tax examination abroad enables tax administrations to permit authorised tax officials of another country to participate in the conduct of tax examinations carried out by the Requested State. Thus in case if India has tax examination abroad provisions in place with a country, the officers of the filed unit may visit that country and participate in the conduct of the tax examination of the affairs of taxpayer. The participation of authorised foreign tax officials in a tax examination being carried out by the requested country may be passive or active, Some countries may only permit passive participation of foreign tax officials in a tax examination. In such instances, participation by foreign tax officials would be limited to observing relevant parts of the tax examination and only liaising directly with the tax officials of the requested country. Foreign tax officials would not be permitted to directly interview taxpayers or other ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e previous Chapters, it has been seen that substantial information is being received from India's treaty partners and it is essential that the same must be effectively utilized during investigations and making assessments, levying of penalty and during prosecution proceedings. It is also essential that regular feedback on how this information is utilized must be provided. Regular, timely and comprehensive feedback between competent authorities is also important as it enables quality improvements to be made for future information exchanges can improve the motivation of tax officials to provide information may be useful for competent authorities to obtain the resources they need as it will serve as an indicator of the usefulness of exchange To achieve these objectives, guidelines in the following paragraphs have been provided which needs to be followed by officers posted in the field formations. 7.2 Information Received on Specific Requests 7.2. I As stated earlier, the requests for information from a foreign jurisdiction can be made by officers of the Investigation Wing and by the Assessing Officer or by the CIT (A). This information is made to the foreign tax authorities throug ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... TR-II) as the case may be, who in turn will provide the feedback to their counterpart in other country. 7.3 Standard Operating Procedure with Regard to Ways to Handle Information Received through Automatic Exchange of Information 7.3.1 The data/information under the Automatic Exchange of Information will be received by the Competent Authority, that is, JS(FT TR-I) and JS(FT TR-II), as the case maybe, from his counterpart in the other country/jurisdiction. This data/information will be forwarded by the office of the Competent Authority to DGIT (Intelligence and Criminal Investigation), through Member (Inv.), CBDT. 7.3.2 The DGIT (I CI) will l. Access the data, examine its integrity, and convert the data into usable format 2. Segregate the data in terms of a monetary limit of Rs. 5 million and above, and below Rs. 5 million 3. The data will be populated with PAN wherever possible 4. The information in respect of cases involving the amount of Rs. 5 million and above would be sent to the respective DIT(I CI) or DIT (Intelligence) for verification and report. The information in respect of cases involving the amount below Rs. 5 million would be forwarded to the respective CCIT(CCA) for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n needs to provide the feedback is enclosed as Annexure-I. The first feedback should be provided within two months of receipt of the information. If on verification of the information, it is found that the information is useful for tax purposes, supplementary report in Annexure-I should be sent by the officer concerned whenever new developments take place, such as completion of assessments, collection of taxes, levy of penalty, initiation of prosecution proceedings, etc. As stated earlier, the feedback may be sent to DGIT (I CI) who will forward this to the Competent Authority for transmission to the Competent Authority of the other country. Any updated feedback, for instance, imposition of penalty or launching of prosecution at a future date may also be reported. 7.5 Spontaneous Exchange of Information As stated earlier, the information received under Spontaneous Exchange of Information including through India's Embassies/Income Tax Overseas Units will be forwarded to Member (Inv.), who will send it to the jurisdictional DGIT (Inv.) and to DGIT (I CI), if the jurisdiction cannot be determined or matter require coordinated action across various jurisdictions. The DGIT concerned ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... visions relating to Exchange of Information, any information received by a Contracting State shall be treated as secret in the same manner as information obtained under the domestic laws of that Contracting State. Thus, the information received under the provisions of DTAAs/TIEAs/Multilateral Convention is also subject to the restrictions imposed through section 138 read with section 280 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. 8.2.2 The provisions relating to Exchange of Information further states that if the information is originally regarded as secret in the transmitting State, it shall be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) involved in the assessment or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, or the determination of appeals in relation to, the taxes which are the subject of the Convention. Such persons or authorities shall use the information only for such purposes but may disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions. Since the provisions of DTAAs override the domestic legislation, this means that if the information is treated as confidential in the transmitting State, it should be treat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ary and record of such copies and the persons handling the data should be maintained. ANNEXURE-A: India's DTAAs AND TIEAs Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements DTAAs Sl. No. Country Date of Entry into Force Competent Authority 1. Armenia 9th September, 2004 JS(FT TR-I) 2. Australia 30th December, 1991 JS(FT TR-II) 3. Austria 5th September, 2001 JS(FT TR-I) 4. Bangladesh 27 th May 1992 JS (FT TR-II) 5. Belarus 17th July 1998 JS(FT TR-I) 6. Belgium 1 st October, 1997 JS(FT TR-I) 7. Botswana 30 th January, 2008 JS(FT TR-II) 8. Brazil 11 th March, 1992 JS(FT TR-II) 9. Bulgaria 23rd June, 1995 JS(FT TR-I) 10 Canada 6th May, 1997 JS(FT TR-I) 11 China 21st November, 1994 JS(FT TR-II) 12. Cyprus 21 st December, 1994 JS(FT TR-I) 13. Czech Republic 27 th September, 1999 JS(FT TR-I) 14. Denmark 13rd June, 1989 JS(FT TR-I) 15. Egypt 30th September 1969 JS(FT TR-II) 16. Estonia 20th June, 2012 JS(FT TR-I) 17. Finland 19 th April, 2010 JS(FT TR-I) 18. France 1st August, 1994 JS(FT TR-I) 19. Georgia 1 st April, 2012 JS(FT TR-I) 20. Germany 26th October, 1996 JS(FT TR-I) 21. Greece 17th March, 1967 JS(FT TR-I) 22. Hungary 4th March, 2005 JS(FT TR-I) 23. Iceland 21st December, 2007 JS(FT TR-I) 2 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... August, 2004 JS(FT TR-II) 79. UK 26th October, 1993 JS(FT TR-I) 80. Ukraine 31st October, 2001 JS(FT TR-I) 81. USA 18th December, 1990 JS(FT TR-I) 82. Uzbekistan 25th January, 1994 JS(FT TR-II) 83. Vietnam 2nd February, 1995 JS(FT TR-II) 84. Zambia 18th January, 1984 JS(FT TR-II) Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) 1. Bahamas 1 st March, 2011 JS(FT TR-I) 2. Bermuda 3 rd November, 2010 JS(FT TR-I) 3. British Virgin Islands 5th July, 2011 JS(FT TR-I) 4. Cayman Islands 8 th November, 2011 JS(FT TR-I) 5. Guernsey 11th June, 2012 JS(FT TR-I) 6. Isle of Man 17th March, 2011 JS(FT TR-I) 7. Jersey 8th May, 2012 JS(FT TR-I) 8. Liberia 30th Mar, 2012 JS(FT TR-II) 9. Macua 14th April, 2012 JS(FT TR-II) ANNEXURE-B: Status of Multilateral Convention as on 31.12.12 Country ORIGINAL CONVENTION PROTOCOL (P)/AMENDED CONVENTION (AC) SIGNATURE (Opened on 25-01-1988) DEPOSIT OF INSTRUMENT RATIFICATION ACCEPTANCE OR APPROVAL ENTRY INTO FORCE SIGNATURE (Opened on 27-05-2010) DEPOSITE OF INSTRUMENT OF RATIFICATION, ACCEPTANCE OR APPROVAL ENTRY INTO FORCE ARGENTINA 03-11-2011 (AC) 13-09-2012 01-01-2013 AUSTRALIA 03-11-2011 (AC) 30-08-2012 01-12-2012 AZERBAIJAN 26-03-2003 03-06-2004 01-10-2004 BELG ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he owners of companies and any bodies corporate. Owners include legal owners, and, in any case where a legal owner acts on behalf of any other person as a nominee or under a similar arrangement, that other person, as well as persons in an ownership chain. A.1.2. Where jurisdictions permit the issuance of bearer shares they should have appropriate mechanisms in place that allow the owners of such shares to be identified. One possibility among others is a custodial arrangement with a recognized custodian or other similar arrangement to immobilize such shares. A.1.3. Jurisdictions should ensure that information is available to their competent authorities that identifies the partners in any partnership that (i) has income, deductions or credits for tax purposes in the jurisdiction, (ii) carries on business in the jurisdiction or (iii) is a limited partnership formed under the laws of that jurisdiction. A.1.4. Jurisdictions should take all reasonable measures to ensure that information is available to their competent authorities that identifies the settlor, trustee and beneficiaries of express trusts (i) created under the laws of that jurisdiction, (ii) administered in that jurisdiction ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s including, to the extent that it is held by the jurisdiction's authorities or is within the possession or control of persons within the jurisdiction's territorial jurisdiction, ownership information on all such persons in an ownership chain. B.1.2. Competent authorities should have the power to obtain and provide accounting records for all relevant entities and arrangements. B.1.3. Competent authorities should use all relevant information-gathering measures to obtain the information requested, notwithstanding that the requested jurisdiction may not need the information for its own tax purposes (e.g., information should be obtained whether or not it relates to a taxpayer that is currently under examination by the requested jurisdiction). B.1.4. Jurisdictions should have in place effective enforcement provisions to compel the production of information. B. I .5. Jurisdictions should not decline on the basis of its secrecy provisions (e.g., bank secrecy, corporate secrecy) to respond to a request for information made pursuant to an exchange of information mechanism. B.2 The rights and safeguards (e.g. notification, appeal rights) that apply to persons in the requested jurisdi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nisms should provide that any information received should be treated as confidential and, unless otherwise agreed by the jurisdictions concerned, may be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) concerned with the assessment or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, or the determination of appeals in relation to, the taxes covered by the exchange of information clause. Such persons or authorities shall use the information only for such purposes. Jurisdictions should ensure that safeguards are in place to protect the confidentiality of information exchanged. C.3.2. In addition to information directly provided by the requested to the requesting jurisdiction, jurisdictions should treat as confidential in the same manner as information referred to in C.3.l all requests for such information, background documents to such requests, and any other document reflecting such information, including communications between the requesting and requested jurisdictions and communications within the tax authorities of either jurisdiction. C.4 The exchange of information mechanisms should respect the rights and safeguards of taxpayers an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... x claims, investigation or prosecution of tax matters , other (please specify): Note 14 12 Relevant background: Note 15 13 Information requested: Note 16 14 Grounds for believing that the requested information is held in the requested jurisdiction or is within the possession or control or is within the possession or control of a person within its jurisdiction: Note 17 15 Name and address of any person believed to be in possession of the information requested (to the extent known): Note 18 16 Form, if any, in which information is requested: For copies of documents what type of authentication, if any, is requested: Note 19 other from requirements, if any: 17 Translation of reply requested: Please check the box: Yes No Language requested: Note 20 18 In making the. request; the requesting competent authority states that: (a) all information received in relation to this request will be kept confident and used only for the purposes permitted in the agreement which forms the. basis for this request; (b) the request is in conformity with its law and administrative practice and is further in conformity with the agreement on the basis of which it is made; (c) the information would be obtaina ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... information. Those rules provide for exceptions from the notification requirement in certain cases. for instance. in cases where the information request is of a very urgent nature or the notification is likely to undermine the chance of success of the investigation in the requesting country. If it is considered that the request falls in one of the above category, a request for exemption from prior notification may be explaining the reasons why the request may fall within the scope of such an exception. Note 12 The time period or the taxable event (e.g. the date on which withholding tax is imposed) for which the information or in relation to which the information is sought should be mentioned. If the information is relevant for the current period, this fact should also be mentioned Note 13 The taxes for which the request are made should be mentioned Note 14 The relevant box needs to be ticked and if necessary more than one box may be ticked Note 15 Detailed background of the case should be mentioned clearly including the fact that how the information requested is foreseeably relevant for administration and enforcement of the domestic tax laws of India. This background information sh ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l the countries 2. Mutual Agreement procedure and Advance Pricing Agreements with all the countries. All the countries 3. Matters related to Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements and Agreements for Exchange of Information and Assistance in Collection of Taxes. North America, Europe and Japan. 4. Exchange of Information, assistance in tax collection, tax examination abroad and service of documents. North America, Europe and Japan. Note North America includes the countries of Central America and Caribbean. FT TR II Division Name Mr K. Ramalingam, IRS Government Agency Ministry of Finance, Government of India Department/ Division Central Board of Direct Taxes, Department of Revenue Function /Role Joint Secretary, FT TR-I Full Address: Room No. 804, 8 th Floor, C Wing, Hudco Vishala Building, Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi-110066 E-mail: [email protected] Telephone +91-11-26104504 Fax: +91-11-26104504 types of assistance for which the contact point is responsible and countries for which the Contact point is responsible 1. Matters related to Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements and Agreements for Exchange of Information and Assistance in Collection of Taxes. Countries/ Jurisdictions oth ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , no relationship exists with the companies located in Country A which has claimed to have reimbursed the expenses. (b) Company Z was not found at the registered address. The local police department initiated detection measures of the actual location of the company and same did not yield any result. (c) Company W 's registration was terminated. As per the report of the local tax office, in the course of the tax audit of this company for the period before cancellation of registration, no relation with companies in Countries A and B were found. Information from Country A indicated the following: (a) Mr. X who was the Managing Director and the chief promoter of G Ltd., and his wife were also directors of Companies located in Country A. (b) The balance sheet of Companies in Country B did not have any property and the registered office address is the residential address of accountant. (c) Bank account of Mr. X in Country A showed substantial credit from companies based in Country B, which could not be explained by Mr. X. The above information received from foreign countries under India's DTAAs have resulted in assessment of undisclosed income of more than Rs. 15 billion. Case St ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... has been let out to three different tenancies during the specified tax period, which were from three different countries. Case Study 4: Unaccounted Credit Card Expenses During the course of survey operations, it was found that the taxpayer has conducted frequent foreign travels and spent a lot of money. It was found that the taxpayer is using a number of credit cards, existing in the name of his relatives living abroad, for his lavish lifestyle. His annual income was only in few millions which was not even sufficient to satisfactorily explain his expenses in India. He allegedly owns a private jet and spends part of the year abroad. Information were requested from Country A where the credit cards have been issued, including the following Name and complete address of the person holding the Credit Card Nature of business/ occupation of the above said persons and their year-wise annual incomes for the period. Transaction statements of all the credit cards mentioned above for the period. Details of bank (including account number) from which payment made in respect of these credit cards for settlement of dues. Statements of Bank accounts for the period April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2010 hel ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... red in their regular books of accounts nor their bank statements. The Indian taxpayer admitted that they have suppressed this income and paid taxes on the same. Case Study 8: Request from a Foreign Jurisdiction Resulted in Detection of Tax Evasion in India In this case, a request for information was received from Country A in the case of Mr.X being a national of that country but a resident of India about the salary income received by him in Country A- Mr. X was employed as Director in a Company (Z) in Country A. His main nature of work was look after the sales (marketing) of machines and give technical support to Z in various countries such as India. He stationed himself in India and travels to the other. countries his Company. He received salary only from Z which is credited to his bank account maintained in the foreign country. When this information was passed on to the field officers, it was found that since services are performed in India. salary income should be taxable in India. On taking this view, an understatement of salary income was determined for five assessment years with amounts varying from Rs.400,000 to Rs. 5 million. The Investigating officer also found in the cour ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... was achieved since the foreign tax authorities could correlate information received from various countries to get a bigger picture of how the tax evasion schemes were carried out through use of offshore trusts. ANNEXURE-G: Proforma for sending information on requests received under DTAAs/TIEAs/Multilateral Conventions (to be filled up in duplicate as per Instructions given in the Manual and as per Notes indicated against each column) 1 Name of the foreign taxpayer Note 1 2 Name and address of all the connected persons in India Note 2 3 Date on which request was received Note 3 4 Date on which reply is given Note 4 5 Whether this is final or interim reply Note 5 6 Problems in gathering information, if any Note 6 7 Details of action taken Note 7 8 Results of Enquiry Note 8 9 Details of documents attached Note 9 10 Form in which feedback is requested Note 10 Signature of the Officer (Note 11) Notes Note 1 The name of the foreign taxpayer should be mentioned here Note 2 The name and address of all the connected persons in India should be mentioned here Note 3 Date on which the request yeas received by the Investigating Officer may be mentioned Note 4 Date on which the reply was given ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... can be collected by the Requested state: Note 16 15 Details of known assets in the Requested Country: Note 17 16 Mode of transmission of taxes that may be suggested to the Requested state: Note 18 Signature of the CIT/DIT concerned Name and Designation (Note 19) Notes: Note 1 The name of the country/jurisdiction from where the information is being requested should be mentioned Note 2 The designation of the Indian Competent Authority, who will be making the request to his counterpart, may be mentioned in this column as under: Countries Competent Authority North America (including countries of Central America and Caribbean), Europe and Japan Joint Secretary (FT TR-I) Room No. 803, C Wing, BhikajiCama Place Hudco Vishala Building, New Delhi 110066 Phone: +91-11-26108402 FAX: +91-11-26177990 Rest of the World Joint Secretary (FT TR-II) Room No. 804, C Wing, BhikajiCama Place Hudco Vishala, New Delhi 110066 Phone: +91-11-26104504 FAX: +91-11-26104504 Note 3 The contact details of the officers at FT TR Division needs to be mentioned here and thus the column should be kept blank Note 4 The legal basis of making the request, for instance Assistance in Tax Collection Article of the DTAA bet ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the taxpayer has assets in Requested country or how the tax claim may otherwise be collected by the Requested State shall be clearly mentioned. Note 17 The details of the known assets including the details of identification and the addresses are to be provided to facilitate the Requested Country to help us. Note 18 The mode of the transmission of tax claim by the Tax Officials of the Requested Country need to be provided clearly. Note 19 The name and designation of the Commissioner of Income Tax/Director of Income Tax concerned making the request should be mentioned and he should sign and verify the content of the information contained in the request. ANNEXURE-I: Proforma for Providing Feedback on Information Received under Automatic or Spontaneous Exchange of Information 1 Name and address of the Indian taxpayer 2 Permanent Account Number of the Indian taxpayer 3 Whether the information was useful Yes or No 4 If the information was not useful, what are the reasons, e.g. data not readable, taxpayer not identified, incomplete address, period of limitation over, etc. 5 Whether the taxpayer has disclosed the information in his tax return 6 If the information received has not been disc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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