New Delhi, August 24
The Congress today said the UPA government would look into refusal of Swiss banks to disclose account details of clients to India.
Assuring that the government was fully aware of the matter, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the issue would be pursued. “The government promises to do whatever is in its power to deal with this important public issue. But there are some matters, which are beyond technical boundaries and jurisdiction of India. I can assure you that every step will be taken…The government will look into the matter of Swiss banks rejection to hand over details of Indian clients,” Singhvi said here.
He, however, refused to see any reason in the argument that maybe the government did not take up the issue properly with the Swiss
authorities earlier. “It is because of efforts of the government that Swiss banks have elicited some response,” he added.
Notably, the Swiss Bank authorities rejected India’s request to disclose details of clients, saying that Swiss law and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Model Tax Convention do not permit fishing expeditions and they would not co-operate for the indiscriminate trawling through bank accounts in the hope of finding something interesting.
They say that India will only be able to get a response if it files specific requests. Indians are said to be holding a huge sum of money, running into billions, in Swiss accounts.
The secrecy shield provided by Swiss banks was a issue of political debate in India, especially during this year’s General Election. Fighting black money was a central theme of the BJP’s campaign during the polls. The party promised to bring back the illegal money stashed away in Swiss banks and other tax havens abroad if voted to power. This had led the Congress to announce that it would take steps in this direction within the first 100 days of assuming power.
The UPA government recently said it had approached Switzerland seeking details about bank accounts held by Indians.
Speaking to mediapersons in New Delhi Finance Minister Mukherjee today said: “What can I comment? I will look into the matter and discuss the Swiss Banks rejection to disclose the details with authorities in banking sector.”
Meanwhile, BJP President Rajnath Singh said India should mount diplomatic pressure on Switzerland to get the account details.
