New Delhi, October 19: With India seeking details of black money stashed away in Swiss banks, Switzerland has said it is willing to open negotiations on the matter.
“Switzerland is willing to open negotiations on that topic (disclosing data about black money)…,” the Swiss Ambassador to India, Phillippe Welti told a news channel.
In August, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said India would begin talks with Switzerland in December over amending the double taxation avoidance treaty between the two countries.
“Switzerland will completely live up to the legitimate expectations out of the treaty… for release of data in the future. The (amended) treaty would be possibly adapted, revived and then we will live up to the new obligations… Of course we will release data,” he told a TV channel.
The Swiss ambassador pointed out that Indian and Swiss governments have agreed on the specific or possible change of the existing treaty.
“Most probably the Indians will ask for the inclusion of tax evasion in the set of provisions of the treaty which would mean that the release of data would be possible,” he said.
The Swiss banks in August had said that India cannot come on a fishing expedition for secret bank account details.
Mukherjee had later made it clear that India was not interested in a “roving inquiry” over unaccounted money stashed away in Swiss banks.
Welti said once the treaty is amended, then the Indian government is entitled to submit request for the purpose.
“… The Swiss government would be entitled to examine those requests and if those requests fit into the provisions agreed upon, then the release of data would be possible,” he added.
Noting that the issue of black money is a concern for the Indian government, Welti said, “the Swiss government and Swiss society’s concerns is to make understand the world that Switzerland and the banks and the Swiss government is not interested in keeping the illegitimate and illegal money”.
—Agencies