India and Switzerland on Monday signed an agreement that will enable New Delhi to get information on tax evasion and other issues, including the stashing of black money in secret accounts.
The protocol, amending the current double taxation avoidance agreement, was signed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and visiting Swiss foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey.
It will pave the way for India to get data on secret accounts but it is unclear if the government can access information on individual accounts in the absence of clear evidence on tax evasion.
An MEA joint secretary was quoted as saying the revised pact was “exactly at par” with Switzerland’s agreements with other countries. Banking in Switzerland depends largely on the integrity of information, and the banking sector contributes almost 11 per cent of its GDP.
The issue of Indians with secret Swiss bank accounts became a political hot potato during the 2009 general elections. It is alleged that Indians have assets worth billions of dollars in Swiss banks. In her three-day visit here, the Swiss minister, earlier Switzerland’s President and a member of the Swiss federal council since 2002, held talks with external affairs minister S.M. Krishna and minister of state for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh.
On October 1, Switzerland will host the 12th meeting of the India-Switzerland joint economic commission.