Disclosing overseas assets correctly is what keeps you clear of Black Money Act penalties. We prepare your Schedule FA for foreign asset reporting in India — getting every year you are ordinarily resident right, and confirming the years when no disclosure is due.
Indian residents who are ordinarily resident and hold assets outside India — foreign bank accounts, shares, ESOPs, RSUs, property, or beneficial interests — must disclose them in Schedule FA of their income tax return, regardless of whether any income arose. Foreign asset reporting in India is taken extremely seriously: non-disclosure can attract severe penalties and prosecution under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) Act, 2015.
Returning NRIs, employees holding overseas stock, and residents with cross-border investments all come within this requirement — we make sure each one’s disclosure is accurate and complete.
The scope is broad and frequently underestimated by taxpayers with overseas employment or investments.
Schedule FA requires details such as peak balance, closing balance, and income earned, reported in the correct currency conversion and calendar-year basis. Errors and omissions — even unintentional ones — can be costly under the Black Money Act. We reconcile your foreign statements, apply the prescribed conversion rates, and complete the schedule accurately.
Importantly, residential status drives the obligation: non-residents and RNORs generally need not report foreign assets. We first confirm your status, then disclose only what the law requires — no more, no less.
Taxpayers who realise they have omitted foreign assets in earlier returns — often unintentionally, such as forgetting RSUs from a former foreign employer — are understandably anxious about the Black Money Act’s severe penalties. In many cases there is a path to correct the position by revising or updating returns and properly disclosing the assets going forward, which is far preferable to the position being discovered.
We assess your specific facts, including your residential status in each year, determine what genuinely needed disclosing, and help you regularise prior omissions while putting clean, accurate reporting in place for the future. Acting before any inquiry begins materially improves your options.
We always begin by confirming your residential status for each relevant year, because that determines whether you must report foreign assets at all. We then disclose exactly what the law requires — no more, no less — using the correct conversion rates and period basis, so you are fully compliant without over-reporting or exposing yourself unnecessarily.
Disclosure obligations sit alongside foreign income tax in India, NRI income tax filing in India, RNOR status planning and tax for remote workers in India.
Our Strength Lies in Providing Real-World Practical Solutions
We complete your Schedule FA disclosures within your ITR deadline, reconciling foreign statements and conversion rates well in advance.
Transparent fees for accurate disclosure that protects you from Black Money Act penalties far larger than any professional cost.
Status determination, foreign-account and equity disclosure, and coordinated foreign-income reporting — all handled together.
AVS & Associates is a peer-reviewed CA firm founded by CA Vishnu Agrawal, with 25+ years of experience and five partners. We uphold the highest ethical and professional standards on every engagement, with complete client confidentiality.
Residents who are ordinarily resident must report foreign assets in Schedule FA of their return. Non-residents and RNORs are generally not required to do so.
Yes. The disclosure requirement applies to holding the asset itself, irrespective of whether any income was earned during the year.
Yes. Shares, ESOPs and RSUs of foreign or multinational employers held by a resident must be disclosed in Schedule FA.
Non-disclosure can attract heavy penalties and prosecution under the Black Money Act, 2015, in addition to tax on any undisclosed income.
Foreign assets are reported using prescribed currency conversion rates and on the relevant period basis, including peak and closing balances. We compute these accurately.