India, Bermuda to share details on tax evaders

India on Thursday signed a pact with Caribbean tax haven Bermuda, which will facilitate exchange of information between the two countries regarding tax evasion.

The Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA), as it is called, will enable the two countries to share information relevant to the administration and enforcement of the domestic laws of India and Bermuda.

The agreement conforms to the guidelines issued by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for countries and destinations considered tax havens to share information. The concept of TIEA was developed by OECD for promoting cooperation in tax matters via exchange of information.

Under agreement, signed by the premier of Bermuda Ewart Brown and minister of state for finance S S Palanimanickam, both countries can share details on banking, ownership and past information on tax matters.

According to the agreement, the information provided has to be treated as secret, and the requesting side has to give minimum details about the information sought. Such information can be disclosed only to relevant tax authorities and oversight bodies, the pact says.

''There is a specific provision that the requested party shall use its information gathering measures to obtain the requested information even though the part may not need such information for its own tax purposes,'' an official statement said.