Chinmay Bidkar`
12 April 2017, India:
If you’ve opened an account in between July 2014 to August 2015, You’ll need to visit your bank to submit your KYC (Know your Customer) details and link Aadhar number by April 30 and self-certify them to comply with FATCA regulations (Foreign Tax Compliance Act).
The step has been taken to comply with Foreign Tax Compliance Act (FACTA) — a pact signed between India and the US. Signed in 2015, the pact enables the two countries to trade information about tax evaders automatically as per the report by ToI.
The Income Tax department stated, “The account holders may be informed that, in case self-certifications are not provided till April 30, 2017, the accounts would be blocked, which would mean that the financial institution would prohibit the account holder from effecting any transaction with respect to such accounts.”
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Aadhaar is becoming a common document that is required for application of various types of utility and services. Considering the fact that Aadhaar requires demographic and biometric details, it offers superior identification and authentication over any other type of document.
Today, it’s not just a proof or identification of citizenship, but also an important document used by the citizens for various purposes such as availing benefits of government services or schemes (such as LPG subsidy), access to government-based apps for Indian citizens (such as BHIM), proof for getting other important government documents (such as a passport) and for other important things.