July 2024

Assessment (1) For the purposes of making an assessment or reassessment under this Act, the Assessing Officer may, on receipt of an information from an income-tax authority under the Income-tax Act or any other authority under any law for the time being in force or on coming of any information to his notice, serve on any person, a notice requiring him on a date to be specified to produce or cause to be produced such accounts or documents or evidence as the Assessing Officer may require for the purposes of this Act and may, from time to time, serve further notices requiring the production of such other accounts or documents or evidence as he may require. (2) The Assessing Officer may make such inquiry, as he considers necessary, for the purpose of obtaining full information in respect of undisclosed foreign income and asset of any person for the relevant financial year or years. (3) The Assessing Officer, after considering such accounts, documents or evidence, as he has obtained under sub-section (1), and after taking into account any relevant material which he has gathered under sub-section (2) and any other evidence produced by the assessee, shall by an order in writing, assess 3[or reassess] the undisclosed foreign income and asset and determine the sum payable by the assessee. (4) If any person fails to comply with all the terms of the notice under sub-section (1), the Assessing Officer shall, after taking into account all the relevant material which he has gathered and after giving the assessee an opportunity of being heard, make the assessment 3[or reassessment] of undisclosed foreign income and asset to the best of his judgment and determine the sum payable by the assessee.

Proceedings before tax authorities to be judicial proceedings (1) Any proceeding under this Act before a tax authority shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of section 193 and section 228 and for the purposes of section 196 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860). (2) Every tax authority shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section 195, but not for the purposes of Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974).

Powers regarding discovery and production of evidence (1) The prescribed tax authorities shall, for the purposes of this Act, have the same powers as are vested in a court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), while trying a suit in respect of the following matters, namely:— (a) discovery and inspection; (b) enforcing the attendance of any person, including any officer of a banking company and examining him on oath; (c) compelling the production of books of account and other documents; and (d) issuing commissions. (2) For the purposes of making any inquiry or investigation, the prescribed tax authority shall be vested with the powers referred to in sub-section (1), whether or not any proceedings are pending before it. (3) Any tax authority prescribed for the purposes of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) may, subject to the rules made in this behalf, impound any books of account or other documents produced before it and retain them in its custody for such period as it thinks fit. (4) Any tax authority below the rank of Commissioner shall not— (a) impound any books of account or other documents without recording his reasons for doing so; or (b) retain in his custody any such books or documents for a period exceeding thirty days without obtaining the approval of the Principal Chief Commissioner or the Chief Commissioner or the Principal Commissioner or the Commissioner.

Change of incumbent (1) The tax authority who succeeds another authority as a result of change in jurisdiction or for any other reason, shall continue the proceedings from the stage at which it was left by his predecessor. (2) The assessee in such a case may be given an opportunity of being heard, if he so requests in writing, before passing any order in his case.

Tax authorities (1) The income-tax authorities specified in section 116 of the Income-tax Act shall be the tax authorities for the purposes of this Act. (2) Every such authority shall exercise the powers and perform the functions of a tax authority under this Act in respect of any person within his jurisdiction. (3) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (4), the jurisdiction of a tax authority under this Act shall be the same as he has under the Income-tax Act by virtue of orders or directions issued under section 120 of that Act (including orders or directions assigning the concurrent jurisdiction) or under any other provision of that Act. (4) The tax authority having jurisdiction in relation to an assessee who has no income assessable to income-tax under the Income-tax Act shall be the tax authority having jurisdiction in respect of the area in which the assessee resides or carries on its business or has its principal place of business. (5) Section 118 of the Income-tax Act and any notification issued thereunder shall apply in relation to the control of tax authorities as they apply in relation to the control of the corresponding income-tax authorities, except to the extent to which the Board may, by notification in the Official Gazette, otherwise direct in respect of any tax authority.

Computation of total undisclosed foreign income and asset (1) In computing the total undisclosed foreign income and asset of any previous year of an assessee,—  (i) no deduction in respect of any expenditure or allowance or set off of any loss shall be allowed to the assessee, whether or not it is allowable in accordance with the provisions of the Income-tax Act; (ii) any income,—  (a) which has been assessed to tax for any assessment year under the Income-tax Act prior to the assessment year to which this Act applies; or  (b) which is assessable or has been assessed to tax for any assessment year under this Act, shall be reduced from the value of the undisclosed asset located outside India, if, the assessee furnishes evidence to the satisfaction of the Assessing Officer that the asset has been acquired from the income which has been assessed or is assessable, as the case may be, to tax. (2) The amount of deduction referred to in clause (ii) of sub-section (1) in case of an immovable property shall be the amount which bears to the value of the asset as on the first day of the financial year in which it comes to the notice of the Assessing Officer, the same proportion as the assessable or assessed foreign income bears to the total cost of the asset. Illustration A house property located outside India was acquired by an assessee in the previous year 2009-10 for fifty lakh rupees. Out of the investment of fifty lakh rupees, twenty lakh rupees was assessed to tax in the total income of the previous year 2009-10 and earlier years. Such undisclosed asset comes to the notice of the Assessing Officer in the year 2017-18. If the value of the asset in the year 2017-18 is one crore rupees, the amount chargeable to tax shall be A-B=C where, A = Rs.1 crore, B = Rs. (100 × 20/50) lakh = Rs. 40 lakh, C = Rs. (100-40) lakh = Rs. 60 lakh.

Scope of total undisclosed foreign income and asset (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the total undisclosed foreign income and asset of any previous year of an assessee shall be,— (a) the income from a source located outside India, which has not been disclosed in the return of income furnished within the time specified in Explanation 2 to sub-section (1) or under sub-section (4) or sub-section (5) of section 139 of the Income-tax Act; (b) the income, from a source located outside India, in respect of which a return is required to be furnished under section 139 of the Income-tax Act but no return of income has been furnished within the time specified in Explanation 2 to sub-section (1) or under sub-section (4) or sub-section (5) of section 139 of the said Act; and (c) the value of an undisclosed asset located outside India. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), any variation made in the income from a source outside India in the assessment or reassessment of the total income of any previous year, of the assessee under the Income-tax Act in accordance with the provisions of section 29 to section 43C or section 57 to section 59 or section 92C of the said Act shall not be included in the total undisclosed foreign income. (3) The income included in the total undisclosed foreign income and asset under this Act shall not form part of the total income under the Income-tax Act.

Charge of tax (1) There shall be charged on every assessee for every assessment year commencing on or after the 1st day of April, 2016, subject to the provisions of this Act, a tax in respect of his total undisclosed foreign income and asset of the previous year at the rate of thirty per cent of such undisclosed income and asset: Provided that an undisclosed asset located outside India shall be charged to tax on its value in the previous year in which such asset comes to the notice of the Assessing Officer. (2) For the purposes of this section “value of an undisclosed asset” means the fair market value of an asset (including financial interest in any entity) determined in such manner as may be prescribed.

Definitions In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—    (1) “Appellate Tribunal” means the Appellate Tribunal constituted under section 252 of the Income-tax Act; 2[(2) “assessee” means a person,—  (a) being a resident in India within the meaning of section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) in the previous year; or  (b) being a non-resident or not ordinarily resident in India within the meaning of clause (6) of section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in the previous year, who was resident in India either in the previous year to which the income referred to in section 4 relates; or in the previous year in which the undisclosed asset located outside India was acquired: Provided that the previous year, in case of acquisition of undisclosed asset outside India, shall be determined without giving effect to the provisions of clause (c) of section 72.] (3) “assessment” includes reassessment; (4) “assessment year” means the period of twelve months commencing on the 1st day of April every year; (5) “Board” means the Central Board of Direct Taxes constituted under the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963 (54 of 1963); (6) “Income-tax Act” means the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961); (7) “participant” means—  (a) a partner in relation to a firm; or  (b) a member in relation to an association of persons or body of individuals; (8) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (9) “previous year” means—  (a) the period beginning with the date of setting up of a business and ending with the date of the closure of the business or the 31st day of March following the date of setting up of such business, whichever is earlier;  (b) the period beginning with the date on which a new source of income comes into existence and ending with the date of closure of the business or the 31st day of March following the date on which such new source comes into existence, whichever is earlier;  (c) the period beginning with the 1st day of the financial year and ending with the date of discontinuance of the business other than business referred to in clause (b) or dissolution of an unincorporated body or liquidation of a company, as the case may be; or  (d) the period of twelve months commencing on the 1st day of April of the relevant year in any other case, and which immediately precedes the assessment year. (10) “resident” means a person who is resident in India within the meaning of section 6 of the Income-tax Act; (11) “undisclosed asset located outside India” means an asset (including financial interest in any entity) located outside India, held by the assessee in his name or in respect of which he is a beneficial owner, and he has no explanation about the source of investment in such asset or the explanation given by him is in the opinion of the Assessing Officer unsatisfactory; (12) “undisclosed foreign income and asset” means the total amount of undisclosed income of an assessee from a source located outside India and the value of an undisclosed asset located outside India, referred to in section 4, and computed in the manner laid down in section 5; (13) “unincorporated body” means—  (a) a firm;  (b) an association of persons; or  (c) a body of individuals; (14) “value of an undisclosed asset” shall have the meaning assigned to it in sub-section (2) of section 3; (15) All other words and expressions used herein but not defined and defined in the Income-tax Act shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that Act.

Short title, extent and commencement (1) This Act may be called the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015. (2) It extends to the whole of India. (3) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, it shall come into force on the 1[1st day of July, 2015].