Eight Income Tax (IT) units are going to be operational very soon in countries like the US, the UK and Japan with the main motive to curb the problem of blackmoney. In Budget 2012 also our Finance Minister had made a big allocation for setting up these Income Tax overseas offices.

As reported by the Economic Times report : The government has deputed eight senior IRS officers to officiate as First Secretaries in the newly-created Income Tax overseas units in countries like the US, the UK and Japan as part of efforts to curb the problem of blackmoney and illegal funds stashed away abroad.

The Income Tax officials, having a tenure of three years, will function from the Indian Missions in Washington DC (the US), London (the UK), Berlin (Germany), Paris (France), The Hague (Netherlands), Abu Dhabi (the UAE), Cyprus (Nicosia) and Japan (Tokyo).

The orders for the deputation of an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer to Japan were awaited and the same were issued last evening.

The Income tax units will be operational very soon as these officers will join in some time at their designated locations, official sources said.

While the initial budgetary allocation for these units was Rs 2.41 crore in the last fiscal, it has been raised to Rs 18.20 crore in the current year.

“The officials deputed are adept at handling tax evasion cases and international tax treaties and will also help the department liaise with authorities of these countries in tax cases including various high-profile cases which the Income Tax is currently investigating,” a senior Finance Ministry official said.

The officials at these Income Tax units will also help investors from abroad understand Indian tax laws and procedures so that they can make informed decisions, the official said.