Circular No. 402/92/2006-MC (04 of 2011)

What it does

Announces that India signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement with the Commonwealth of The Bahamas on 11 February 2011, the High Commissioner of India to Jamaica, concurrently accredited to the Bahamas, signing for India and the Minister of State for Finance for the Bahamas. The agreement provides for sharing information, including banking and ownership information. Information received is covered by the secrecy clause, but may be shared with specified tax authorities and with authorities concerned with the determination of tax appeals, and for other purposes only with the prior consent of the party that gave it. It is the fourth such agreement of that period, after those with Bermuda, the Isle of Man and the British Virgin Islands.

Why it was issued

It publicises the signing of the agreement; no other reason is recorded.

Who it reaches

Indian residents holding accounts or entities in the Bahamas
Beneficial owners of Bahamian structures
Assessing Officers seeking banking or ownership information from that jurisdiction

The instrument, as the Board published it

The words below are the department’s own, reproduced from its published text. Where the department’s copy carried a publisher’s notes after the instrument, those are not reproduced.

India has signed its fourth TIEA with Bahamas

PRESS RELEASE NO. 402/92/2006-MC (04 OF 2011), DATED 12-2-2011

India has entered into a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with the Bahamas. The Agreement was signed on 11th February 2011 by the High Commissioner of India to Jamaica (concurrently accredited to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas) on behalf of India and the Minister of State for Finance on behalf of the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

The agreement provides for sharing information, including exchange of banking and ownership information. Although the information shared will be covered under the secrecy clause, it can be shared with specified tax authorities or authorities concerned with determination of tax appeals. Information can also be shared for other purposes with the prior consent of the giving party.

This is the fourth TIEA entered into by India in recent months. Earlier, India had signed similar TIEAs with Bermuda, Isle of Man and British Virgin Islands.

What to watch

This announces a signing; the release does not say when the agreement entered into force or from what period information may be sought, and those dates matter.
The reach of the agreement is exchange of information, including banking and ownership information - it is not a double taxation avoidance agreement and carries no relief from tax.
Information received is under the secrecy clause and can go only to the authorities named, unless the giving party consents to a wider use.
It is a press release; the terms are in the agreement itself.

Where you meet it

Where an assessment or investigation rests on information about a Bahamian account or entity obtained from that jurisdiction.

← Circular No. No.402/92/2006-MC (06 of 2011) · Circular No. 402/92/2006-MC (03 of 2011) →

A circular binds the department, not you and not a court. The Board issues a circular to its own officers. An assessee may hold the department to a circular that helps him; the department cannot hold an assessee to one that hurts him, and the Tribunal and the courts decide the law for themselves.

Source: the Income Tax Department’s own published text — its page for this instrument.