Woman in 80s told to pay up for undisclosed Rs 196 crore in Swiss account

MUMBAI: Taxmen are elated over a recent order of the Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT)’s Mumbai bench, which has confirmed the addition of an undisclosed income of Rs 196 crore — the peak deposit in a Swiss bank account — in the hands of an elderly taxpayer who was its “beneficial” owner. Now, tax plus penalties will be payable on this unaccounted income.

Renu Tharani, whose case was heard by ITAT, is in her eighties. She was the sole discretionary-beneficiary of a Swiss bank account, held by the Tharani family trust, in HSBC Geneva. It was opened in July 2004 in the name of GWU Investments, an entity based in Cayman Islands. This company, in its capacity as the settlor, had transferred funds to the family trust.

According to a few I-T officials TOI spoke to, typically, beneficiaries of overseas trusts deny foreign bank accounts. Two, taxpayers change their tax status to tha