An Inter-Governmental Agreement between India and USA was signed for implementation of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The Government of India has also joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) for Automatic Exchange of Information as per Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

 For implementation of FATCA and CRS, necessary legislative changes have been made in the Income-tax Act, 1961 and Income-tax Rules, 1962.Rules 114F, 114G & 114H and Form 61B have been inserted to provide legal basis for the Reporting Financial Institutions (RFIs) for maintaining and reporting information about the Reportable Accounts.

 A Guidance Note was released on 31st August 2015 for ensuring compliance with the reporting requirements provided in Rules 114F to 114H and Form 61B of the Income-tax Rules, 1962. Based on comments and feedback received, this Guidance Note has been updated on 31st December 2015. The same has been placed on the Income-tax website http://www.incometaxindia.gov.in.

FATCA and CRS implementation requires reporting financial institutions to identify and report reportable accounts under new rules. Implementation of FATCA and the Common Reporting Standard is effected by an Inter Governmental Agreement and India's accession to the multilateral agreement, with domestic amendments to the Income-tax Act and Rules introducing Rules 114F-114H and a prescribed reporting form to require Reporting Financial Institutions to identify, maintain and report information on reportable accounts; a Guidance Note was issued and subsequently updated to assist RFIs in complying with due diligence and reporting procedures.