India signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (Multilateral Convention) on 26th January, 2012 and ratified it as on 2nd February, 2012. The Multilateral Convention has come in to effect for India on 1st June, 2012. At present 38 countries have signed the Multilateral Convention including Costa Rica, Ghana, Columbia and Tunisia with which we do not have Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement/Tax Information Exchange Agreement at present in force. 

The Parties to the Multilateral Convention are obliged to exchange information for tax purposes as per international standards, including banking information, if a specific request is made in this regard. They are also obliged to assist each other in collection of taxes. These provisions will held in verifying whether the black money is stashed abroad in the countries/jurisdictions that are parties to the Multilateral Convention and we will also get assistance in collection of taxes from these countries/jurisdictions. We are also making efforts at global forums that the Multilateral Convention is signed by Offshore Financial Centres and countries traditionally believing in secrecy of banking laws and other laws. 

This was stated by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri S.S. Palanimanickam in written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.