Relaxation in conditions for prosecution under the Black Money Act for these taxpayers: Budget 2026 announcement

Feb 1, 2026

Synopsis
The Black Money Act, 2015, imposes penalties and prosecution for wilful non-disclosure of foreign income and assets. Amendments are proposed to sections 49 and 50 to exempt minor and inadvertent non-disclosures from prosecution, aligning them with the existing penalty framework.

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 in 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.

“The amendment provides relief to taxpayers having non-immovable assets outside India with aggregate value of up to Rs 20 lakh. The amendment has removed the prosecution provisions for such taxpayers even if they have omitted to report such non-immovable foreign assets in their income-tax return. This aligns with removal of Rs 10 lakh penalty which was made effective from 1 October 2024 and eases the penal provisions for small and inadvertent omissions” Says Shalini Jain, Tax Partner, EY India

[The Economic Times]