ITR Revision Needed Before Dec 31? CBDT Begins Second 'NUDGE' Campaign For Foreign Asset Compliance

For thousands of high-risk taxpayers holding international investments, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued a deadline of Dec. 31, 2025, to review and correct their income tax returns. Otherwise comes the risk facing severe financial penalties under the Black Money Act.

Beginning Nov. 28, taxpayers flagged for potential non-disclosure of foreign assets will receive targeted SMSs and emails, giving them a final, non-intrusive chance to ensure complete compliance, according to a press release issued by PIB Delhi.

The launch of the second “Nudge Campaign” focused on taxpayers who have global holdings who now have an urgent window. This comes after CBDT’s comprehensive analysis of the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) data for the Financial Year 2024-25.

Information sourced from international partner jurisdictions, primarily through the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) frameworks, has identified clear cases where foreign assets (Schedule FA) and foreign source income (Schedule FSI) appear to exist but were not reported in the ITRs filed for accounting yearr 2025-26.

Accurate and complete disclosure of all foreign assets and income is a statutory requirement under the Income-tax Act, 1961. Non-compliance, particularly in cases involving offshore wealth, calls for the stringent provisions of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, which are designed to levy heavy tax and penal consequences.

Taxpayers must utilise the Dec. 31 deadline to correct their submissions to prevent their cases from being escalated to verification and scrutiny proceedings.

The CBDT’s Nudge campaign, first launched in November 2024, compelled 24,678 taxpayers to disclose foreign assets valued at a massive Rs 29,208 crore, along with foreign-source income of nearly Rs 1,090 crore. The current initiative aligns with the CBDT’s technology-enabled PRUDENT approach, focusing on voluntary compliance to foster accountability.