New Delhi (NVI): Taking forward the earlier Indo-Swiss resolve to fight against tax evasion and black money, the two sides held secretary-level talks here today that involved expeditious information exchange in tax matters.
Welcoming the first transmission of financial account information on automatic basis between the two countries in September 2019, the Secretaries reiterated their countries’ commitment to global tax transparency for tackling offshore tax evasion.
This automatic exchange of financial account information will usher a new era of financial transparency as Indian tax administration will now know the details of all bank accounts held by Indians in Switzerland. The Secretaries encouraged the competent authorities of both the countries to further collaborate and share experiences with the aim of continuously enhancing the quality of the exchanged data, said the statement.
Earlier in September, President Ramnath Kovind during his three nations tour held delegation-level talks with Switzerland where president noted that both the countries will have the first automatic exchange of information on tax matters in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the Revenue Secretary and Swiss State Secretary also exchanged views on addressing the challenges arising out of digitalisation of the economy and agreed that coordinated international actions, as in the case of tax base erosion and profit shifting project, are central to achieving a consensus-based long-term solution that leads to desired tax certainty and sustainable development.
The Secretaries also reaffirmed the need for continuous dialogue at the level of competent authorities of the two countries to further enhance the cooperation under the India-Switzerland tax treaties and agreed to carry forward the dialogue in the spirit of mutual friendship and cooperation.
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