India plans to retrospectively extend its Black Money Act 2015 to NRIs, who will come under scrutiny for any undisclosed property and bank accounts created during the years they were classified as ordinarily resident in the home country.
The amendment to the act takes place retrospectively from 1 July 2015, when the law first came into force, with greater powers for the Commissioner of Income Tax to increase or reduce penalties at the appeal stage, rather than the current arrangement of just confirming or cancelling penalties under the Black Money Act.
The widening scope is expected to cause issues for non-residents who have not declared accounts held in previous decades.
The change is part of the India government’s latest budget which will come into effect once the 2019 Finance Bill is approved by the two houses of parliament and received the assent of the President of India.
