A talk on FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) was organised by Joshi-Adhikari Institute of Social Studies (JAISS) on Monday, 27th April, 2015 at 4 pm at Ajoy Bhawan, Delhi. Mr. Bazil Shaikh, author and a former central banker spoke about FATCA enacted by the United States and its implications for India.

The Act requires ‘US Persons’ to declare their accounts held outside the US and transactions related to these accounts to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It also requires financial institutions outside the jurisdiction of the US to report on accounts of US Persons maintained with them and transactions therein to the IRS either directly or through their regulators.

While the stated purpose of FATCA is to “detect, deter and discourage offshore tax evasion” by US citizens or residents, it has far reaching implications for the rest of the world including India.

Apart from issues such as extra-territorial jurisdiction of regulations enacted in the developed world, it will directly impact on the cost of banking and financial transactions in the country and the common person.