"A lot of requests are likely to be made to the BVI (British Virgin Islands) in near future in view of the investigations being carried out in the Panama Papers ," the department said in its advisory. As many as 2,000 Indian names figure in the 'Panama Papers' and the I-T department wants officers to get procedures right while seeking information. Many of the structures floated in Panama — which have been revealed in the expose through International Consortium of Investigative Journalists — have linkages in British Virgin Island and a deeper look into these could shed light on real ownership. NEW DELHI: Anticipating a surge in request for information from British Virgin Islands after the 'Panama Papers' expose, the income-tax department has issued an advisory to its officials, asking them to take due care in filing request for information under tax bilateral treaty.Among other things, the directive asks official to "refrain from notifying the taxpayer involved" to ensure that the taxpayer is not alerted and is unable to block the request through legal measures. ET reviewed a copy of it.

Source: Economic Times May 16, 2016 15:41 UTC