By IANS,
New Delhi : The government Wednesday told the Supreme Court that it did not use a taxation agreement with Germany to seek information on Indians who have parked their black money in LGT Bank in Europe.
The government denied the allegation that its intentions were malafide in seeking information from Germany on Indian account holders in LGT Bank in Liechtenstein, a small independent principality (monarchy) in Europe which is not a part of Germany.
India has a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Germany. The agreement deals with the avoidance of taxation on the same transaction in both countries.
The contention that the “government had malafide intention in seeking the information from the German government under the DTAA is misconceived and contrary to the record,” said an affidavit filed by Finance Ministry Joint Secretary Anoop Kumar Srivastava.
The government maintained silence on the names of people who have stashed away huge amounts of money in foreign banks located in tax havens.
The 18-page affidavit mentioned all mundane details but refrained from naming the names and addressing the issue of bringing back the black money that has been stashed away in banks outside the country.