Give FATCA info by 31 Aug or face account freeze

Mutual fund (MF) investments worth Rs 1.1 lakh crore are at the risk of being frozen over non-compliance with tax information sharing law FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act).

India has signed an inter-governmental agreement with the US for implementing FATCA, which is part of an anti-tax evasion regime designed to locate income and assets held by US persons in offshore accounts. According to FATCA guidelines, the information should be collected by fund houses from investors.

All that fund houses want to know is whether investors pay taxes or have a tax residency in a country other than India. Any undisclosed investments would be found and reported to the tax authorities. The deadline for furnishing information as part of the compliance is 31 August. The Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) is working on a common procedure involving leading MF transfer agents such as CAMS to make compliance easier for investors.