CBDT's nudge campaign: Over 30,000 taxpayers declare foreign assets, income worth about Rs 30,300 crore

Over 30,000 taxpayers have revised their I-T returns or filed belated returns and declared additional foreign assets and income of more than Rs 30,000 crore, Government sources said on Thursday. In line with its 'trust-first' approach, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had on November 16 last year, launched an awareness campaign under which messages were sent to taxpayers who had not disclosed high-value foreign income or assets in their ITRs for AY 2024-25.

SMSes and emails were sent to 19,501 taxpayers with high foreign account balances or significant foreign income from interest or dividends above a specified threshold.

These communications requested taxpayers to revise their Income Tax Returns (ITRs) to reflect their foreign assets and income accurately.

Sources said 24,678 taxpayers reviewed their ITRs and 5,483 taxpayers filed belated returns for AY 2024-25, declaring foreign assets worth Rs 29,208 crore and additional foreign income of Rs 1,089.88 crore.

Also, 6,734 taxpayers revised their residential status from Resident to Non-Resident.
Sources said about 62 per cent of nudged taxpayers responded positively, voluntarily revising their ITRs to declare foreign assets and income.

The number of taxpayers disclosing foreign assets and income on a voluntary basis has steadily grown from 60,000 in AY 2021-22 to 2,31,452 taxpayers in AY 2024-25.

This year, due to extensive outreach and awareness efforts, voluntary disclosures witnessed a significant 45.17 per cent growth compared to AY 2023-24.