CBDT’s NUDGE campaign prompts taxpayers to disclose over ₹29,000 crore in foreign assets; second phase begins with targeted alerts and December 31 deadline.
The impact was swift, with 24,678 taxpayers revisiting their filings, including several who corrected disclosures even without receiving direct notices.
New Delhi: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) strategy of soft warnings backed by hard data is delivering decisive results.
Its first NUDGE campaign has compelled taxpayers to disclose foreign assets worth Rs 29,208 crore and foreign income of Rs 1,089.88 crore, after thousands rushed to revise their returns following targeted alerts.
Launched on 17 November 2024, the Non-intrusive Usage of Data to Guide and Enable (NUDGE) campaign focused on taxpayers flagged under global data-sharing frameworks for failing to report foreign assets in their income tax returns.
The impact was swift, with 24,678 taxpayers revisiting their filings, including several who corrected disclosures even without receiving direct notices.
Encouraged by the outcome, CBDT is now rolling out its second NUDGE initiative, targeting high-risk cases identified through analysis of Automatic Exchange of Information data for FY 2024-25.
Official sources said that from 28 November , SMS and email alerts will be sent to individuals whose foreign assets remain unreported in returns filed for AY 2025-26, giving them time until 31 December to revise and comply before facing penal action.
Officials said that the information has been sourced from international partners under the Common Reporting Standard and from the United States under FATCA, allowing the tax department to map overseas financial holdings of Indian residents with growing precision.
According to official sources, disclosure in Schedule FA and FSI is a statutory requirement under the Income-tax Act and the Black Money Act, and failure to comply can trigger severe penalties and prosecution.
The objective of this initiative , officials told this newspaper was to drive home the point that the era of quietly parking wealth abroad without disclosure is shrinking fast.
With over Rs 29,000 crore already brought into the open through a single campaign, CBDT’s data-first enforcement model is proving that gentle nudges can yield heavyweight results — and the second round is expected to expose even more offshore wealth.
