Foreign bank account, foreign income and other foreign investment details shared with India by foreign countries can soon become visible in your Annual Information Statements (AIS), thanks to a new order by CBDT.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued an order authorising the Income Tax Department to upload information received under the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) framework into AIS, a move aimed at improving transparency and helping taxpayers reconcile their income tax return (ITR) filings with information available to the Income Tax Department.
What does the order say?
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has authorised the Director General of Income-tax (Systems), Delhi to upload AEOI information received from foreign tax authorities into taxpayers' AIS.
The information to be uploaded in AIS covers the following time periods:
- January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022
- January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023
- January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024
- January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025
Also the provided the information will only be given in AIS if it is available with the Income Tax Department within 90 days from the date of this order. The order also directs the DGIT (Systems) to prescribe the procedures, formats and standards for uploading this information.
Experts say that under the AEOI framework, the Income Tax Department used to receive information about taxpayers’ foreign income and assets but this information was primarily used internally by the Income Tax Department.
However, now following this new CBDT order (F.No. 225/73/2025-ITA-II) dated July 8, 2026, much of this information will also become visible to taxpayers through their AIS, allowing them to verify what information the Income Tax Department has received before filing or revising their income tax returns (ITRs).
Chartered Accountant Naveen Wadhwa, vice president, Taxmann says: "Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) is the system through which Indian authorities receive annual financial data from foreign jurisdictions on their residents without requiring a specific request."
According to Wadhwa, until now, this inbound data was exclusively accessible to the department, and taxpayers could not view it. It was revealed only through a notice, a scrutiny process, or a campaign prompting taxpayers to review their Schedule FA disclosures.
Wadhwa says: "This directive to upload AEOI information into the AIS encourages taxpayers to fully disclose details in their ITR. It indicates that the government prefers voluntary self-disclosure over penalising users for incomplete information."
What does it mean for taxpayers?
Chartered Accountant Ashish Karundia says that this new move by CBDT to reflect foreign financial information received under the AEOI framework in AIS/Form 26AS is a welcome step from a taxpayer's perspective. It provides greater transparency by allowing taxpayers to cross-verify the information available with the tax department before filing or revising their returns.
Karundia says: "If any data is inaccurate or does not pertain to the taxpayer, the AIS feedback mechanism offers an opportunity to seek correction. This will improve voluntary compliance while also reducing the scope for disputes arising from incorrect or incomplete reporting."
Chartered Accountant Priyal Goel Jain, Partner and NRI Tax Expert, Dinesh Aarjav & Associates, says that with this new update foreign financial data is being fed straight into the Annual Information Statement, which means the tax department can spot mismatches between what someone holds abroad and what they've actually declared in their return far more easily than before.
Jain says: "For NRIs, returning Indians, and even resident individuals who have foreign bank accounts or investments, this is the moment to be proactive rather than reactive."
Order has been issued under Income Tax Act, 2025 also
In exercise of powers conferred under section 239 ofthe Income-tax Act,2025 read with Rule 245(2) of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, the Central Board of Direct Taxes, hereby authorises the Director General of Income-tax (Systems), Delhi to upload information, received under Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) framework under an agreement referred to in section 159 of the said Act in the Annual Information Statement in Form No. 168, which is in his possession within ninety days from the end of the month in which the information is received by him.
The Director-General of Income-tax (Systems), Delhi shall specify the procedures, formats and standards for the purposes of uploading of Annual Information Statement in Form No.168 containing the information referred to in the para above.
