Govt will get all data on black money from Switzerland in 2019: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi, June 29: Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that India will get all data on black money from Switzerland by the end of fiscal 2019. India would start getting details of bank accounts from Switzerland under a bilateral treaty, he said.

His statement comes a day after Switzerland released data which showed money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose over 50 per cent to 1.01 billion CHF (Rs 7,000 crore) in 2017, reversing a three-year downward trend amid India's clampdown on suspected black money stashed there.

"Agreement between India and Switzerland has this. From January 1, 2018 till end of accounting year, all data will be made available. Why assume this is black money or illegal transactions?" Goyal said, referring to the report.

In comparison, the total funds held by all foreign clients of Swiss banks rose about 3 per cent to CHF 1.46 trillion or about Rs 100 lakh crore in 2017, according to data released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), the central banking authority of the Alpine nation.

India has a treaty with Switzerland under which the Swiss government would provide all data from January 1, 2018 till December 31, 2018. India would get data as the accounting year ends, Goyal said.

Referring to the rise in Swiss bank deposits by Indians, Goyal said, "The data that you alluded to will come to us, so how are you assuming that this is black money or this is illegal transaction?"

Around 40 per cent of this money is because of the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), Goyal said, citing media reports. The scheme was introduced by former Finance Minister P Chidambaram. Under the LRS, an individual could remit up to $2,50,000 per year.

"We will have all information. If someone is found guilty, the government will take strong action against them," Goyal said.