(INDIA) — The Central Board of Direct Taxes authorised the Director General of Income-tax (Systems), Delhi, to upload foreign financial-account information received under the Automatic Exchange of Information framework into taxpayers’ Annual Information Statements in AIS Form 168.

The CBDT order, dated July 8, 2026, requires the information to be uploaded within 90 days from the end of the month in which DGIT (Systems) receives it. The order also authorises the directorate to prescribe the procedures, formats and technical standards for the upload.

Issued under Section 239 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, read with Rule 245(2) of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, the order covers Foreign Account Data received from overseas jurisdictions through AEOI arrangements.

The information may concern Indians who have lived or worked abroad, returning non-resident Indians, employees holding foreign-company shares, beneficiaries of overseas trusts and Indian residents who retain foreign bank or investment accounts.

How the system works

India has received foreign financial-account information through international tax arrangements for several years. The change is that information held by the Income Tax Department can now appear directly in a taxpayer’s AIS, allowing account holders to examine records that foreign financial institutions have reported about them.

Form 168 is the Annual Information Statement prescribed under Rule 245 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026. It operates under Section 510 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, and carries forward the broader AIS function previously associated with Form 26AS.

The statement can contain tax deducted or collected at source, advance tax, self-assessment tax and regular tax payments, specified financial transactions reported by banks and other institutions, demand and refund information, pending and completed tax proceedings, and other authorised information.

The Income Tax Department generates Form 168 and places it in the taxpayer’s registered e-filing account. Taxpayers do not prepare or file the form themselves.

AIS updates as the department processes TDS returns, TCS statements, tax payments, specified financial-transaction reports and other authorised information. The 90-day period in the CBDT order applies specifically to AEOI information and does not establish a deadline for every other AIS entry.

Understanding AEOI and CRS

AEOI is an international tax-transparency system under which participating jurisdictions periodically share financial-account information about people identified as tax residents of another participating country.

Under the Common Reporting Standard, financial institutions collect information about accounts held by people who are tax residents elsewhere. They report that information to their local tax authority, which transmits it to the relevant partner jurisdiction.

The system extends beyond ordinary savings accounts. It can cover banks and other depository institutions, custodial and brokerage accounts, collective investment vehicles, certain insurance and annuity contracts, accounts held through entities, and trusts or companies in which a person is identified as a controlling or beneficial person.

As a result, AEOI can affect people who directly own overseas accounts as well as those connected with foreign companies, trusts or other legal arrangements. The information generally relies on tax-residence and identification details held by the foreign financial institution.

An outdated address, an incorrect tax-residence declaration, a duplicate account record or a failure to update residency after moving countries can produce an entry that requires explanation. The record may reflect how a foreign institution classified an account holder rather than a final finding by Indian tax authorities.

Timeline and compliance

The 90-day period governs the department’s upload of the data. It is not a filing deadline for taxpayers, who are not required to file Form 168 or upload AEOI information separately.

If DGIT (Systems) receives AEOI information on September 12, 2026, the period is calculated from the end of September, or September 30, rather than from September 12. The upload is expected within 90 days from September 30.

Taxpayers should review AIS promptly once the information appears, particularly while preparing, revising or updating an Indian income-tax return. A review can identify mismatches before they become part of a tax dispute or proceeding.

Impact on returning Indians

Returning Indians face particular reconciliation issues because accounts opened during overseas employment often remain active after a person moves back to India. These can include foreign salary accounts, pension or retirement investments, employee stock options, restricted stock units, brokerage or cryptocurrency accounts, cash-value insurance policies and jointly held accounts.

Foreign company directorships, signing authority over an employer or family account, and interests connected to overseas entities can also remain relevant after a person’s return. The account may have been opened while the holder was non-resident, then reported after the holder became an Indian tax resident.

Residency and taxability

Immigration status, citizenship and income-tax residency are separate questions. Holding an Indian passport does not by itself establish that worldwide income is taxable in India for a particular year, while describing oneself as an “NRI” does not settle the tax-residency calculation.

Indian tax consequences depend on residential status for the relevant year, including whether the person is resident and ordinarily resident, resident but not ordinarily resident, or non-resident. The income’s source and any applicable tax treaty must also be considered.

An overseas account appearing in AIS does not automatically make its entire balance taxable in India. It indicates that the department has received information about the account and may compare it with disclosures in the taxpayer’s return.

An overseas account balance should not be treated automatically as income. A closing balance can include salary earned and taxed in an earlier year, transfers between the taxpayer’s own accounts, investment-sale proceeds, gifts or inheritances, loan proceeds, capital originally taken abroad, or income that is not taxable in India because of residential status or treaty protection.

The proper response is reconciliation rather than automatic inclusion of the whole balance as taxable income. The review should establish who legally and beneficially owns the account, the period during which the person was an Indian tax resident, the income that arose in the account, and whether that income was taxable in India.

It should also examine whether foreign tax was paid, whether a foreign tax credit is available, and whether the account or asset had to be reported in the applicable return. Records showing the movement and source of funds can be as important as the balance displayed in AIS.

Form 168 vs. Schedule FA

Form 168 is an information statement generated from data available to the department. Schedule FA is a disclosure schedule that forms part of the taxpayer’s income-tax return where applicable. The two documents serve different purposes.

An account can be reportable in the return even if it does not appear in AIS. Taxpayers must report actual income when required, whether or not the department’s information statement contains a corresponding entry.

AEOI mainly concerns financial accounts and may not provide a complete record of every foreign asset. Directly held foreign real estate, personal property and certain privately held interests can require separate consideration even when they do not appear as AEOI entries.

Schedule FA can seek information about foreign depository and custodial accounts, interests in foreign entities, insurance contracts, immovable property, other capital assets, signing authority, foreign trusts and foreign-source income. A blank AIS therefore does not establish that no foreign-asset disclosure is required.

Errors and corrections

AIS entries can contain errors caused by duplicate reporting, incorrect PAN or identification mapping, an account closed in an earlier period, joint ownership, nominee or signing-authority status, incorrect tax-residence classification, incorrect currency conversion, an account belonging to another person, or gross proceeds displayed without related acquisition cost.

The AIS facility allows taxpayers to submit feedback when an entry is incorrect, duplicated or does not belong to them. The Taxpayer Information Summary, or TIS, is updated after the department processes that feedback.

Feedback does not replace the need to retain evidence. Foreign bank statements, account-opening documents, tax-residency records, sale confirmations, foreign tax returns and proof of the source of funds can help establish whether an entry is accurate and how it should be treated.

Transitional arrangements

A separate CBDT transitional order under Section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 covers earlier periods governed by the old law. AEOI information for calendar years 2022, 2023 and 2024 already held by DGIT (Systems) is to be uploaded in the AIS associated with Form 26AS within 90 days from the date of the July 8, 2026 order.

For calendar year 2025, the information is to be uploaded within 90 days from the end of the month in which DGIT (Systems) receives it. Earlier periods therefore remain under the Income-tax Act, 1961 and the Form 26AS framework, while the Income-tax Act, 2025 uses Form 168 for the new tax-year system.

The Income-tax Act, 2025 came into force on April 1, 2026. Transitional provisions continue to govern matters relating to earlier years.

Records to review

Residents and returning Indians with overseas financial connections should compare AIS with foreign bank and brokerage statements, interest, dividend and capital-gain records, foreign employment and stock-compensation documents, Schedule FA and foreign-source income disclosures, foreign tax credit claims, forms relating to overseas remittances, residential-status calculations, and previously filed or updated returns.

Accounts that remained open after a person left a foreign country require attention even when the balance is small or the account is no longer actively used. A dormant account can still be reported by the overseas financial institution, while an account with no taxable income can still create a disclosure mismatch if it should have appeared in the return.

The July 2026 CBDT orders place a timeline on the department’s upload of overseas information and make that information more visible within the AIS framework. Taxpayers who check ownership, tax residency, income, foreign tax and disclosure obligations against their records will be better placed to correct an error or explain a genuine entry before it is treated as an unexplained mismatch.