Industry Odisha Bureau, Aug 15: Allowing eligible small taxpayers to voluntarily declare undisclosed foreign assets/income up to Rs 5 crore, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), a statutory body under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of Indian, has reportedly notified the ‘Foreign Assets Disclosure for Small Taxpayers (FADST) – Disclosure Scheme Rules 2026’ with a filing window from August 16 to Dec 31 this year.
As per reports, “While the notification date is August 14, 2026 under Section 143 of the Finance Act, 2026, the date of the ‘Foreign Assets Disclosure for Small Taxpayers (FADST) – Disclosure Scheme starts from August 16, 2026 with its deadline December 31, 2026. “
Reports added that, “While the valuation date is March 31, 2026, small taxpayers with undisclosed foreign assets/income within the prescribed thresholds must meet conditions in the rules.”
Reports further added that, “There are two categories in the scheme under Section 133 of the Finance Act, 2026. While Category 1 includes: ‘Aggregate value of undisclosed foreign income+assets worth Rs 1 crore, Category 2 includes: ‘Aggregate value of specified foreign assets worth Rs 5 crore (that includes assets acquired as a non-resident from overseas income, or assets already taxed but not disclosed in the return).”
It has further been reported that, “It can be filed within the prescribed timeline electronically in Form 1 with the Income Tax authority.”
So far the tax and penalty are concerned, it has also been reported that, “It carries relief from full immunity to a 100% penalty depending on the value and nature of the disclosure. For the Rs 1 crore bracket, declarants must pay 30% tax on the value of undisclosed assets and income, plus a 100% penalty on that tax, taking the effective payout to 60% of the aggregate value. For the Rs 5 crore bracket, the scheme levies only a flat fee, nil for smaller declarations or Rs 1 lakh, with no tax or penalty component. Declarants who complete payment within the prescribed timeline get immunity from further tax, penalty and prosecution under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, once the declaration is certified as valid.”
