FAST-DS 2026 - Eligible to file or not

[Trinity]

Dear experts

Taxpayer wants to disclose old foreign bank account via this scheme. The rules state for bank a/c the FMV is 'Sum of all deposits' from date of creation.

The bank escalation manager has intimated that statements prior to Oct 2018 are unavailable due to retention policy, this was via email with A/c # clearly mentioned. The only available statements are from Oct 2018 till closure 2022. There are full period salary slips and W2s available. Will the mising statement make the taxpayer ineligible to file under this scheme despite the bank admitting that statements are unavailable. All deposits in the a/c is fully taxed salary from employment during NRI period. It is unclear if CBDT will ever clarify this and the clock is ticking for the scheme cloure date.

Please help with your inputs / comments, it is highly appreciated.

Sincerely

Trinity

AI Summary

Foreign bank account disclosure eligibility may hinge on unavailable historical statements despite complete salary evidence.
FAST-DS 2026 eligibility is queried for disclosure of a foreign bank account where historical statements before October 2018 are unavailable under the bank's retention policy. The bank has confirmed the unavailability by email, while statements from October 2018 through closure in 2022 are available. Salary slips and W-2 records cover the full period, and all deposits are asserted to be fully taxed employment salary earned during the non-resident period. The issue is whether missing historical statements prevent filing despite alternative evidence.