Union Budget 2026-27 - Finance Bill, 2026

C. RATIONALISING PENALTY AND PROSECUTION

The Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 [the Black Money Act] provides for penal and prosecution measures in cases of wilful non-disclosure of foreign income and assets by residents. Sections 49 and 50 of the Black Money Act, prescribe prosecution, including rigorous imprisonment and fine, where a resident wilfully fails to furnish a return of income or wilfully omits to disclose foreign assets or income in the return of income.

In order to provide relief in cases of minor and inadvertent non-disclosures and to align the prosecution provisions with the penalty framework under the Black Money Act, it is proposed to amend sections 49 and 50 to provide that these provisions shall not apply in27 respect of foreign assets, other than immovable property, where the aggregate value does not exceed twenty lakh rupees.

These amendments shall take effect retrospectively from the 1st day of October, 2024.

[Clause 144]

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Full Text:

Union Budget 2026-27 - Finance Bill, 2026

Relaxation of prosecution under the Black Money Act excludes small-value foreign assets from sections 49 and 50. The Finance Bill proposes that sections 49 and 50 of the Black Money Act will not apply to foreign assets (other than immovable property) where the aggregate value does not exceed twenty lakh rupees, thereby excluding prosecution for minor or inadvertent nondisclosures and aligning prosecution exposure with the Act's penalty framework; the amendment is to have retrospective effect from 1 October 2024.