Armed with information on secret bank accounts of citizens from 10 countries, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday the results of its crusade against black money will be visible over the next five years.
"About 10 countries have provided us automatic information and action is being initiated," Finance Secretary R S Gujral said on the sidelines of an international conference on 'Tax and Inequality' in New Delhi.
"Yes, it does include banking information," he said, when asked whether the information was about secret bank accounts.
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Crusade against black money to show results in 5 years: FinMin
India, he added, was playing an important role at the international fora in highlighting the importance of exchange of banking information and sharing of past data.
The efforts, he said, would take some time to yield results.
"The issue of how well it (exchange of banking information) will address the question of black money being siphoned off abroad, I think the next five years will show the results," he added.
Besides, he said, India has "obtained certain information from Mauritius also regarding individual cases which we have asked for and obviously action is being taken on them".
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Crusade against black money to show results in 5 years: FinMin
The real issue with Mauritius, he said, was with regard to capital gains tax. India is in the process of revising the tax treaty with the island nation.
"We are seeking to amend 75 of our DTAAs (double taxation avoidance agreements) and we are seeking to enter into 17 TIEAs (tax information exchange agreements)," Gujral added.
He, however, expressed dismay at the fact that some countries were still not willing to share past information and agreeing for automatic exchange of information, despite Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development pressing for them.
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