Black money: Swiss banks' liabilities towards Indians fall by Rs 14k crore

NEW DELHI: Total liabilities of Swiss banks towards Indians declined by more than Rs 14,000 crore during the 2006-10 period, the government said today.

The liabilities stood at Rs 9,295 crore at the end of 2010 compared to Rs 23,373 crore in 2006, according to the White Paper on black money tabled by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Parliament.

During these years, total liabilities of Swiss banks towards Indians fell as much as Rs 14,078 crore.

Swiss banks' liabilities towards Indians have been coming down since 2006 and the amount sharply fell to Rs 14,979 crore in 2007, it said.

Again, these liabilities dropped to Rs 10,924 crore in 2008 and further to Rs 8,879 crore in 2009.

As per the White Paper, the liabilities of Swiss banks towards Indians at the end of 2010 accounted for just "0.1302" per cent of overall liabilities towards all countries.

The government is making various efforts to bring unaccounted money stashed by Indians in overseas banks, amid rising calls to curb the menace of black money.

As per the revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India and Switzerland, the Alpine nation would provide banking and other information in specific cases that relate to the period starting from 1 April 2011, with limited retrospective application.

"... Switzerland has agreed to share information prospectively only and has accepted limited retrospectively only in case of some countries, such as India," the White Paper said.