Global Daily Tax News, India Urges Taxpayers To Declare Foreign Assets, (Dec 1, 2025)

Having received financial account information from other nations' tax authorities, India's Central Board of Direct Taxes has launched a campaign to challenge taxpayers regarding the non-declaration of foreign assets.

The CBDT's "NUDGE" initiative involves the agency contacting taxpayers through SMS messages and emails to advise them to voluntarily review and revise their income tax returns on or before December 31, 2025, to avoid penalties.

The CBDT said: "An analysis of the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for the financial year 2024-25 (calendar year 2024) has revealed high-risk cases where foreign assets [...] appear to exist, but are not reported in the income tax returns filed for the assessment year 2025-26."

The cases were detected through an analysis of information received by the agency based on international exchanges under the Common Reporting Standard and the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

The CBDT said: "The objective of this campaign is to facilitate correct reporting of Schedule Foreign Assets (FA) and Foreign Source Income (FSI) in ITRs. Accurate and complete disclosure of foreign assets and income is a statutory requirement under the Income Tax Act, 1961, and the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015."

The initiative is an expansion of an earlier program launched in mid-November, which prompted 24,678 taxpayers to revise declarations and disclose foreign assets worth INR2.9bn (USD32.5m), as well as foreign-sourced income of INR108m.