An awareness campaign was launched for AY 2024-25 to support taxpayers in the correct completion of Schedule Foreign Assets (Schedule FA) and disclosure of income from foreign sources in their ITR. 
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An awareness campaign was launched for AY 2024-25 to support taxpayers in the correct completion of Schedule Foreign Assets (Schedule FA) and disclosure of income from foreign sources in their ITR. Income Tax officials have noted that in 2024, 30,161 taxpayers declared foreign assets worth Rs 29,208 crores and additional foreign income of Rs 1,089.88 crore. There was a significant increase in voluntary foreign asset disclosures, rising from 60,000 in Assessment Year (AY) 2021-22 to 2,31,452 in AY 2024-25, marking a 45.17% growth from the previous AY, government sources told Business Today.
In September 2024, India received financial information from more than 108 countries through CRS and FATCA agreements. In the same year, the CBDT reached out to 19,501 taxpayers through SMS/emails and conducted 30 outreach sessions, engaging with over 8,500 participants.
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Throughout 2024, 24,678 taxpayers reviewed their Income Tax Returns (ITRs), with 5,483 submitting belated returns and 6,734 updating their residential status to declare their foreign assets.
In December 2024, taxpayers were urged by the Income Tax Department to voluntarily disclose any previously unreported foreign assets or income by December 31, 2024. It said that failure to do so might result in severe consequences such as a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh or even imprisonment in certain cases.
The Income Tax Department informed that India obtains detailed information about its residents' financial accounts held in foreign jurisdictions, making it futile to conceal wealth abroad.
Furthermore, the Income Tax Department stated that information concerning Indian individuals with foreign assets or income is exchanged under an international framework involving India and other countries. This sharing of information is facilitated through the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
“CRS, is an initiative of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), requiring financial institutions to report information about financial accounts held by foreign residents to their respective tax jurisdictions. This information is then exchanged with other jurisdictions annually. Similarly, FATCA, enacted by the United States, mandates foreign financial institutions to report accounts held by the U.S. taxpayers to the IRS,” the Income Tax Department had stated earlier.
How can one declare foreign assets
Schedule FA
The income tax department advised taxpayers to be prompt about any foreign asset or income and disclose it in schedule FA (foreign asset) in the ITR form and schedule FSI (foreign source income).
The I-T department said: “Additionally, taxpayers can claim tax relief on taxes paid abroad by filing Schedule TR (Tax Relief). Failure to disclose foreign assets and income can attract stringent penalties and prosecutions under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.”
Filing ITR-U
Failure to accurately report foreign income or assets can pose a significant issue, especially given the current situation where the tax authorities possess the necessary data. It is advisable to address this matter promptly by submitting either a revised or belated Income Tax Return (ITR) or an updated ITR-U. However, certain individuals are ineligible to utilise the ITR-U for this purpose.
For instance where the deadline for ITR filing, revised ITR, or belated ITR has passed for previous financial years, only an ITR-U can be filed. The ITR-U can rectify under-reported or unreported income but cannot accommodate new disclosures or corrections in such cases. Any new disclosures or corrections must be made through the ITR or revised ITR, as appropriate.
Black Money Act
According to experts, individuals who wish to disclose their foreign income or assets voluntarily but are unable to do so through a revised ITR, belated ITR, or ITR-U have the option of utilising the Black Money Act. This act allows taxpayers to disclose undisclosed foreign assets and income, potentially lowering penalties and the threat of prosecution.
It is important to note that this option is only viable if the taxpayer proactively discloses before the tax department detects the non-compliance through enforcement measures or international data-sharing protocols like FATCA and CRS.
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