(Image source from: Will Modi government take action on Swiss bank list?})

The Swiss government has shared the list of Indians holding an account in Swiss banks with the Narendra Modi government. But the vital question is will the Indian government act against individuals who have deposited un-taxed wealth in Swiss banks.

The list from Switzerland is a big boost to India's fight against black money as it's the first step. The Indian government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money, headeed by Justice MB Shah, to deal with the menace of tax evasion.

Justice MB Shah has assued that the guilty shall be punished. But before that the SIT on black money would have to verify the list.

Elaborating further, Justice Shah says that the Swiss government has shared a combined list - comprising both legal and illegal stash of cash. He says that the Indian government is looking for the list of certain persons. It will be verified and after that action will be taken, said Shah.

If the money deposited is legal then the government cannot do anything. Only if a person has unaccounted money deposited in Swiss banks an action can be taken. The manner of the money deposited will decide whether it's black money or legal, added Shah.

According to a senior Swiss government official, the Swiss authorities have come across the list of these Indian individuals and entities while identifying real owners of funds in several banks operating in Switzerland.

The names provided are those of persons who have probably deposited un-taxed money in Swiss banks. They have used structures like domiciliary companies, trusts and other legal entities that are not based in India, added the Swiss official.

However, the official refused to reveal either the identity of these individuals and entities, or the amount of funds they have stashed in Swiss banks. He cited the confidentiality clause of the bilateral information exchange treaty between India and Switzerland for not divulging facts.

He assured that the Swiss authorities will provide all necessary support to India's SIT on black money as Switzerland is keen to work with the Modi government.

The official also revealed that as per the latest Swiss National Bank data the total amount of foreign client money in Switzerland's 283 banks stood at USD 1.6 trillion, dismissing claims that Indian black money could add up to trillions of dollars.

And when he was asked about the rise of Indian funds amounting to 2.03 billion Swiss francs (Rs 14,000 crore) in Swiss banks, he said it was that of clients who had declared themselves as Indian. So it couldn't possibly be black money.

The present list has been shared by the Swiss government on a 'spontaneous' basis, said the senior official. He further added that it was very different from how the Indian authorities had earlier availed information earlier through 'leaked' or 'stolen' lists of certain banks, including the 'HSBC list'.

(AW: With PTI inputs)