Cabinet approves pact with the Seychelles to fight black money

Minister says it will stimulate information exchange between two nations for tax purposes.

Adding one more to the list of countries that have joined India in the fight against black money, the Union Cabinet approved on Thursday the signing and ratification of an agreement between India and the Seychelles for exchange of information on taxes.

“This is part of the ongoing initiative of the Government of India to unearth black money,” Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

The agreement would stimulate information exchange between India and the Seychelles for tax purposes to help curb tax evasion and avoidance, he added.

India has already signed an inter-governmental agreement with the U.S. to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), a significant step towards curbing overseas tax evasion and black money.

Prior to that, India joined 59 countries in the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in May. This agreement obliges signatories to exchange periodically and automatically a wide range of financial information among themselves.

Regarding the agreement with the Seychelles, Mr. Prasad said, “Any abuse of land of India or the Seychelles for money transaction in an unauthorised manner regardless of the fact that the person is resident or not is amenable to prosecution.”

All types of taxes imposed by India or the Seychelles, irrespective of the manner in which they are levied, are covered, the Minister added.

Air services pact

The Cabinet announced its approval for the signing of a revised Air Services Agreement with the Seychelles to modernise and update the pact signed in 1978. Under the new agreement, the number of flights between the two countries will be increased from three a week to seven.

The Cabinet approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Australia regarding cooperation in the fields of education, training and research.

“The MoU will help intensify existing partnerships between India and Australia in higher education and research, including technical and professional education, schools, vocational education and training and will open up new and innovative areas of cooperation,” the government said in a release.