Government probing HSBC list of accounts: P Chidambaram
The government today informed Parliament that the Income Tax Department and its other wings are probing the information received with regard to foreign bank accounts of individuals and entities with the HSBC bank.
December 17, 2012 / 22:29 IST
The government today informed Parliament that the Income Tax Department and its other wings are probing the information received with regard to foreign bank accounts of individuals and entities with the HSBC bank.
Also read: Govt lowers growth forecast, says on track for deficit"HSBC list of accounts is being investigated by the Income Tax (I-T) department and other departments," finance minister P Chidambaram said during a discussion on the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha. The case of money laundering, he said, would arise only if there was a predicate offence whose proceeds were used for money laundering purposes.The government had earlier in June, 2011 received information from France relating to certain bank accounts reportedly held by certain individuals/non- individuals in the Geneva branch of HSBC bank.The I-T department has also initiated the exercise to obtain more information with regard to account holders from foreign governments. "Appropriate action has been taken in these cases and further action, including assessment, tax collection and levying of penalty as per the provisions of the I-T Act, 1961 depending on the facts in every case will now be taken up," a government statement had said.It was also pointed out that the information received from the French government was covered by the confidentiality clause under the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) between the two countries and could only be used only for the specified tax purposes. According to media reports, India had received data of over 700 HSBC accounts from the French government.The issue was also raised by social activist Arvind Kejriwal who had alleged that about Rs6,000 crore belonging to powerful business houses and influential individuals were lying in the HSBC bank accounts. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
