New Delhi: To deliver on his promise of bringing back black money to India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may make a stopover in Switzerland on his way to the US next month to discusss the issue of illicit fund flows in the country's banks.
According to a report in The Times of India, top level Indian and Swiss officials are in touch to facilitate the visit. If the visit does work out, Modi will land in Swiss capital Bern on June 6 on his way to Washington, DC from Doha.
PM will meet Swiss president Johann Schneider-Ammannto and very likely dicuss an arrangement that could pave the way for automatic exchange of information on tax-related issues. It is possible that the government may arrive at an understanding over the issue with Switzerland, earning itself the bragging rights of having checked the flow of unaccounted for wealth.
Amid the crackdown on illicit fund flows in the global financial system, both countries have stepped up their cooperation on tax matters related to black money allegedly stashed by Indians there.
Last Month, Swiss Ambassador to India Linus von Castelmur had said automatic exchange of tax information between India and Switzerland is expected to happen "rather soon".
Describing automatic information exchange as "future music", Castelmur said both sides are working towards it.
There should be a bilateral arrangement where both sides can commit to proceeding with automatic information exchange, he added.
As part of global efforts to curb flow of illegal funds in the financial system, Switzerland has agreed to be part of the automatic tax information exchange framework.
Switzerland has already signed an agreement for introduction of the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) on cross-border tax evasion with several other countries including Canada, Japan, Australia, South Korea and EU.
In recent months, Switzerland has disclosed names of more than a dozen Indians about whom information has been sought by the Indian government amid suspicion that their accounts in Swiss banks were used for stashing illicit money.
