Income Tax Department launches foreign assets report on e-Filing portal, here’s how to check
The Income Tax Department has enabled a new Foreign Assets Information (FAI) feature on the e-Filing portal, allowing eligible taxpayers to view information about their overseas financial accounts and assets received by India under international information-sharing arrangements. The move is aimed at improving voluntary compliance and helping taxpayers verify foreign asset details before filing returns or availing the proposed Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme (FAST-DS) 2026.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) announced the feature on July 20, stating that taxpayers can now access foreign asset information through the Annual Information Statement (AIS) on the Compliance Portal. The department clarified that the initiative is intended to facilitate compliance rather than initiate investigations.
What taxpayers can see on the portal
The Foreign Assets Information report displays details received by Indian tax authorities from overseas jurisdictions under the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) framework, including the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Information may include foreign bank and custodial accounts, investment holdings, interest, dividends and other specified financial income reported by participating countries.
To access the report, taxpayers need to log in to the Income Tax e-Filing portal, open the Compliance Portal, and navigate to Reports > Foreign Assets Information. The report can be downloaded, and taxpayers can submit feedback if they believe any information is inaccurate. The updated status is subsequently reflected in the AIS after the feedback is processed or confirmed by the reporting source.
According to the Income Tax Department’s user guide, the feature is designed to improve awareness of foreign asset reporting requirements, provide a structured mechanism for reporting discrepancies and enhance transparency in tax compliance.
Why the feature matters
The rollout comes ahead of the proposed Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme (FAST-DS) 2026, announced in the Union Budget 2026-27. Although the scheme has been enacted through the Finance Bill, it will become operational only after the government issues a notification in the Official Gazette.
FAST-DS will provide a one-time, six-month window for eligible taxpayers to voluntarily disclose specified undisclosed foreign income or overseas assets and obtain immunity from prosecution under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, subject to prescribed conditions and payment of tax or fee. The scheme is expected to benefit groups such as students returning from overseas, multinational employees holding foreign ESOPs or RSUs, and returning NRIs who may have inadvertently failed to report foreign assets in their Indian tax returns.
The new portal feature allows taxpayers to review the information already available with the tax department before the disclosure scheme is notified, reducing the chances of inadvertent reporting errors and enabling timely compliance.
