Query on scenario related to FAST DS 2026

In short, because the foreign income represents bona fide salary earned for services rendered abroad during overseas deputations, it is protected under Article 15 of the respective DTAAs and does not constitute unaccounted black money. While non-declaration of the foreign bank accounts in Schedule FA for ROR years represents a procedural oversight, judicial precedents consistently protect genuine salaried employees from harsh penalties where no tax evasion occurred. The taxpayer should audit their exact day counts for residential status, compile foreign tax and bank records, submit an explanatory response on the compliance portal, and consult an international tax professional before rushing into paying heavy penalties under the disclosure scheme.

In short, because the foreign income represents bona fide salary earned for services rendered abroad during overseas deputations, it is protected under Article 15 of the respective DTAAs and does not constitute unaccounted black money. While non-declaration of the foreign bank accounts in Schedule FA for ROR years represents a procedural oversight, judicial precedents consistently protect genuine salaried employees from harsh penalties where no tax evasion occurred. The taxpayer should audit their exact day counts for residential status, compile foreign tax and bank records, submit an explanatory response on the compliance portal, and consult an international tax professional before rushing into paying heavy penalties under the disclosure scheme.

Please do not decide this on the 60% figure yet. It applies to only one of the two routes, and the answer depends on the residential status for each year.

Step 1: fix the status year by year from actual days in India (Section 6 tests), not from an AI summary. The list in the post looks mixed, and a wrong year changes the whole result.

Step 2: split the years.
- Years where he was a non resident: salary for work done abroad was not taxable in India, and Schedule FA is not needed for those years. Nothing to declare.
- Years where he was resident: foreign salary was taxable in India (tax actually paid abroad can be set off under the DTAA route), and any foreign account held in the calendar year belonged in Schedule FA.

Step 3: the scheme has two routes. Assets or income that were already taxed in India, or earned while non resident, go into the flat fee route with an Rs 1 lakh fee. Foreign income that was never offered to tax here goes into the 60% route (30% tax plus an equal amount). The residents years where salary was never declared are the ones to look at closely. Check in the scheme rules whether the 60% is worked out on the income or on the value of the asset as on 31 March 2026. For accounts with almost nil balance since 2019 that difference is big.

The last date for the declaration is 31 December 2026, so there is time to do the residential status work properly, but I would not leave it open ended. Waiting for a tribunal fight later means years of cost and no certainty.

The [FAST-DS 2026 guide](https://taxgarden.in/blog/fast-ds-2026-foreign-assets-disclosure-scheme-small-taxpayers-india) sets out both routes, the forms, and the payment steps.