Switzerland Not Sharing Info On Bank Accounts Of Indians: FM
He said India would not hesitate to tell global forums that Switzerland still does not comply with the standards of transparency and that the required legal and regulatory framework is still not in place in Switzerland. "Further, the Government of India may also have to raise this issue in other multilateral fora such as the G20," he added.
Chidambaram said India was "seriously concerned" that some Indian taxpayers may have parked substantial unaccounted income and assets in offshore jurisdictions, and "it expects cooperation from those jurisdictions to deal with them effectively." "In the event of continued denial of access to vital information, which Switzerland is obliged to provide under the DTAC, India may be constrained to actively consider the options available under our domestic laws," Chidambaram said.
Though he did not spell out the options, these may include making unavailable to investors from Switzerland the benefits under the double-taxation avoidance agreement between the two countries. "In view of your assurance that the Swiss government is keen to cooperate with India and find possible ways of complying with our requests for information under DT AC, a bilateral discussion at the official level was held in New Delhi on 4 and 5 February, 2014.
"However, no progress was made during the discussions and the Swiss delegation merely reiterated their previously stated positions and refused to consider any options or alternate approaches," Chidambaram said in the letter to the Swiss Finance Minister. He said Swiss authorities through a letter dated 20 February, 2014 suggested that they are "closing" the requests made by India in 562 cases.
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