This scheme will be effective from August 16 and under this, online declarations can be filed till December 31, 2026.
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The Income Tax Department announced on Saturday that declarations can be filed under the Voluntary Disclosure of Foreign Assets Scheme for small taxpayers until December 31, 2026. Under this scheme, taxpayers will be required to pay 30 percent tax along with an additional fee of the same amount. Consequently, the total tax liability will be 60 percent. The Voluntary Disclosure of Foreign Assets Scheme (FAST-DS) was announced in the Budget for the financial year 2026-27 presented in February this year.
This scheme is for small taxpayers such as students, young professionals, IT sector employees, and NRIs relocating abroad. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notified the schemeтАЩs rules on Saturday, stating that eligible taxpayers can declare undisclosed foreign assets, undisclosed foreign income, or foreign assets not declared in the relevant return by paying the prescribed tax or fee.
The scheme will be effective from August 16th, and online declarations can be filed until December 31st, 2026. The fair market value of the assets to be declared will be determined as of March 31st, 2026.
Two broad categories have been established for filing declarations.
Two broad categories have been established for filing declarations under the scheme. The first category includes undisclosed assets located outside India or undisclosed foreign income on which tax has not been paid. In this case, the total value of the undisclosed assets should not exceed тВ╣1 crore. The second category includes assets located outside India on which tax has already been paid or which were acquired while the taxpayer was a non-resident (NRI) but were not declared in the relevant column of the income tax return. A monetary limit of тВ╣5 crore has been set for such declarations, and a fee of тВ╣1 lakh will be charged.