Taxmann Law Relating to Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act 2015 By Raj K. Agarwal, Rakesh Gupta 5th Edition April 2026

Law Relating to Black Money Raj K. Agarwal Rakesh Gupta Edition April 2026

Law Relating to Black Money Raj K. Agarwal Rakesh Gupta Edition April 2026

The Present Publication is the 5^th Edition | 2026 and has been amended by the Finance Act 2026. This book is authored by Dr Raj K. Agarwal & Dr Rakesh Gupta, with the following noteworthy features:

• [No-Time-Limit Assessment Regime Fully Analysed] The Black Money Act prescribes no time-barring limit for initiating assessment or reassessment—proceedings can be initiated even 30 or 40 years after the fact. The book examines the constitutional validity, practical operation, and litigation risks arising from this provision in granular detail
• [Section-By-Section Commentary with Full Text] Every section of the Act is reproduced along with original Notes on Clauses from the legislative record, followed by a structured analysis of salient features and significant issues—making the commentary self-contained as a working reference
• [Over 200 Critical Issues Identified and Opined Upon] Each chapter lists the significant issues of litigation arising from its sections and provides the authors’ considered opinion. These opinions cover interpretive gaps, constitutional challenges, procedural ambiguities, and questions not yet resolved by courts
• [Authors Openly Disagree with the CBDT Where Warranted] On whether pre-1^st July 2015 assets are assessable under the Act, the authors directly challenge the CBDT’s aggressive FAQ position—citing the Supreme Court’s Ganpati Dealcom ratio—and state their considered opinion that such interpretation is legally untenable and constitutionally problematic. This intellectual honesty is a defining feature of the book’s value to litigation counsel
• [Tracks Legislative Evolution Across Five Finance Acts] Every amendment—the 2019 retrospective expansion of ‘assessee’, the 2024 prosecution threshold revision, the 2026 prosecution amendments, and the introduction of FAST-DS 2026—is placed in historical context with analysis of what changed, why, and what litigation consequences follow
• [Cross-Referenced to Both the Income-Tax Act 1961 And the Income-Tax Act 2025] All references to income-tax provisions appear in dual form—citing both the corresponding section of the Income-tax Act 1961 and its equivalent in the newly enacted Income-tax Act 2025—ensuring the book remains fully current as India’s direct tax statute transitions
• [Schedule FA Treated as a Substantive Legal Obligation] The book documents what Schedule FA requires across all asset categories and draws a precise distinction between disclosures that immunise against BMA proceedings and those that merely furnish the Assessing Officer with a trigger to initiate them
• [Practical Roadmap for NRIs and Persons with Historical Foreign Positions] The book systematically maps obligations for persons who acquired foreign assets as non-residents and have since become resident—covering Schedule FA disclosure timing, the NOR status window, and the documentary evidence that must be preserved indefinitely against a future Section 10 notice
• [Structured Treatment of the BMA–PMLA Interplay] The book addresses the parallel enforcement architecture arising from the Act’s scheduled offence status under PMLA—including the PMLA’s independent arrest powers that the BMA itself does not confer—and the consequences for clients facing simultaneous exposure under both statutes
• [Covers FAST-DS 2026 in its Entirety] Chapter 10A provides a complete treatment of the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme 2026, including statutory text (Sections 130–144), the Memorandum Explaining Objects, and a structured analysis of salient features—a significant addition exclusive to this Edition
• [Valuation Chapter with Rule-level Analysis] Chapter 12 sets out the full valuation framework under the Act, including the fair market value methodology for different asset classes, valuation by foreign valuers, the significance of the valuation date, the treatment of assets no longer in existence as on the valuation date, and re-rolling scenarios
• [Comprehensive Appendices] Four appendices reproduce all prescribed forms (Forms 1–8), key CBDT circulars from 2015 through 2024, all material CBDT notifications, and extracts from other laws cross-referenced in the Black Money Act, including the CPC, IPC/BNS, Companies Act, LLP Act, and Constitution of India

About the author

Dr Raj K. Agarwal has been meritorious throughout his academic career. He has done M.Com, LL.B. and PhD. He is a Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Institute of Company Secretaries of India and an Associate Member of the Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India. Having practised as Chartered Accountant for more than 25 years as a senior partner in M/s. Rakesh Raj & Associates, presently, he is practising as an advocate at Delhi High Court.

Dr Rakesh Gupta is a law graduate and Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Institute of Company Secretaries of India and an Associate Member of the Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India. He has done a PhD. He was awarded the gold medal in the LL.B. examination by the University.