Foreign assets amnesty scheme goes live with forms now available
Form 1 has to be filed by Dec 31 with valuation of undisclosed income The Income Tax Department has switched on Form 1 under the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme, 2026 — better known as FAST-DS 2026 — and it’s now live on the e-filing portal. You have until 31 December 2026 to declare what was left out, get the valuation done as on 31 March 2026, and regularise it without inviting the full force of the Black Money Act. This is not another open-ended amnesty. It’s a one-time window that started on 16 August 2026 and closes firmly on the last day of the year. The department has made the form available so people can actually use the scheme instead of just reading about it. Form 1 is the starting point. You log in to the income-tax e-filing portal, go to e-File, then Income Tax Forms, and look under “Other Acts” for the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme, 2026. Fill it, upload the supporting papers, and submit electronically. The form itself is divided into four parts. Part A takes your basic details — name, address, PAN, passport if relevant. Part B is where you list the foreign assets and incomes: bank accounts, immovable property, jewellery, artistic work, securities, or any other asset sitting outside India, plus any undisclosed foreign income. Part C asks for the valuation summary as on 31 March 2026. That date is fixed. Whether it’s the higher of cost or market value for property and jewellery, or the closing balance for bank accounts, everything has to be valued in Indian rupees as of that day. Part D is where you work out what you think is payable. Once you file Form 1, the department verifies it and issues Form 2 telling you the exact amount due. You then have two months from the end of the month in which Form 2 is issued to pay, or four months if you are willing to pay interest for the extra two months. After payment you file Form 3 with the proof, and the department issues Form 4 confirming that the declaration is valid and the immunity has kicked in. Keep all four forms. They matter. There are two clear categories, and the cost depends on which one you fall into. Category 1 is for undisclosed foreign income or assets that were never offered to tax in India. The aggregate value cannot exceed ₹1 crore. On that amount you pay 30 per cent tax plus another 30 per cent as additional levy — effectively 60 per cent. Category 2 is lighter. It covers foreign assets up to ₹5 crore that were acquired from income already taxed in India, or assets bought while you were a non-resident but never reported in the Schedule FA of your return after you became resident. For this category the fee is a flat ₹1 lakh, no matter how many assets or years are involved, as long as the total stays within the limit. The scheme is aimed at people who missed the disclosure rather than those who actively hid large sums. Returning NRIs who forgot to report an overseas account or ESOP shares, residents who had a dormant foreign bank balance, or anyone who simply left Schedule FA blank in earlier years are the ones who can benefit. If proceedings under the Black Money Act have already started or an assessment has been completed for that year, you may not be eligible. The rules are clear on that. Valuation is the part that needs care. For immovable property, jewellery, artistic work and unquoted shares you will usually need a valuation report. Quoted shares and bank accounts have simpler rules. Everything is converted into rupees using the prescribed exchange rates. Multiple assets can go into one Form 1, so you don’t have to file separately for each. Tax professionals have been telling clients for weeks that this window is worth using if you have something sitting unreported. Under the Black Money Act the stakes are much higher — tax at 30 per cent, penalty that can go up to three times the tax, a separate ₹10 lakh penalty for non-disclosure, and possible prosecution. FAST-DS offers a cleaner exit for the smaller cases. Once Form 4 is issued, you get immunity from further tax, penalty and prosecution under the Black Money Act for the declared amounts for the year ending 31 March 2026 and earlier years. The process is entirely online. No physical paper chase at the local office. Supporting documents — bank statements, purchase deeds, income proofs, valuation reports — have to be uploaded with Form 1. Accuracy matters. Wrong valuation or incomplete details can lead to the declaration being rejected. With the form now available, the practical advice is straightforward. Check your past returns for Schedule FA. Look at any foreign accounts, investments or properties you hold. Get the valuation done as on 31 March 2026 if required. Sit with a chartered accountant if the numbers are not simple. Then file Form 1 well before the December rush. Waiting till the last week is rarely a good idea when systems slow down and last-minute questions crop up. This is a limited opportunity for people who have genuine gaps in their foreign asset reporting. The government has drawn a line at ₹1 crore for the fully undisclosed cases and ₹5 crore for the already-taxed or non-resident-acquired ones. Beyond that, the scheme does not apply. For those who fit, the forms are ready, the portal is open, and the deadline is fixed. File by 31 December, complete the payment cycle, and close the chapter. Sources: Financial Express (4 September 2026), Mint, Business Standard, Economic Times, CBDT Notification No. 114/2026, and official Income Tax Department e-filing portal guidance on FAST-DS 2026. @Rohit Manral