Centre to block accounts sans FATCA self-certification

New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) The central government on Tuesday announced its decision to block accounts of those individuals who do not provide self-certification by April 30.

This would be done in order to comply with the provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

"This would mean that the financial institution would prohibit the account holder from effecting any transaction with respect to such accounts," a Finance Ministry statement said here.

"The transactions by the account holder in such blocked accounts may, thereafter, be permitted once the self-certification is obtained and due diligence completed," it added.

An inter-governmental agreement between India and the US was signed in August 2015 for the implementation of FATCA, to ensure tax is paid on the income generated from abroad.

Under Indian income tax rules, financial institutions have to obtain self-certification and carry out due diligence in respect of all individual and entity accounts opened between July 1, 2014, and August 31, 2015.

This was required to have been done by August 31, 2016, failing which the accounts were supposed to be closed.

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