India Opens One-Time Window for Undisclosed Foreign Assets Disclosure
India's tax authorities on August 16 opened a one-time compliance window under the newly notified Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme (FAST-DS), 2026, giving eligible taxpayers a chance to voluntarily declare previously undisclosed overseas assets and income. The scheme, detailed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, will remain open for declarations until December 31, 2026, and applies to residents as well as certain non-residents and resident-but-not-ordinarily-resident taxpayers who were Indian residents in the year the income arose or the asset was acquired. Declarations can be filed where a taxpayer previously failed to file a return, omitted foreign holdings from a filed return, or where income or assets could otherwise be treated as having escaped assessment. The scheme splits eligible cases into two categories: fully undisclosed foreign assets or income capped at an aggregate value of ₹1 crore, attracting a 30% levy on the value plus an equivalent additional amount, effectively pushing the outgo higher; and previously taxed but unreported assets, or assets acquired during a period of non-residency, capped at ₹5 crore, which carry a flat fee of ₹1 lakh. Taxpayers must file electronically via Form 1, with the tax department handling assessment digitally. The move gives smaller taxpayers with modest overseas holdings a narrow but structured route to compliance ahead of tighter global information-sharing on foreign accounts.