As many as 10 countries have provided information to India on an automatic basis for tax administration purposes, the Finance Secretary, Mr R.S.Gujral, said here today.

The information that has been provided to India includes banking information, Mr Gujral said when asked if India was getting information under the renegotiated double tax avoidance agreements (DTAAs).

"Are we getting information under these DTAAs? The answer is yes," he said. Mr Gujral, however, declined to name the countries or the incremental revenues mobilised from such information sharing with India.

India has in the last two years taken steps to renegotiate DTAAs besides entering into tax information exchange agreements (TIEA) with many so-called tax havens. It has concluded negotiations wiith 17 jurisdictions/countries for TIEAs, of which seven have been signed.

Currently, India has DTAAs with 81 countries. As many as 75 of the 81 DTAAs do not have specific paragraph for exchange of banking information. All these 75 DTAAs have been picked up for renegotiation.

Mr Gujral expressed confidence that the spate of DTAAs being renegotiated and the TIEAs entered into by India would provide rich dividends (higher revenue mop up) in the next five years through efficient exchange of information.

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