Sections 1 and 86-88 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 1 gives the Act its name, says it extends to the whole of India and prints a commencement wording. Sections 86 to 88 sit at the other end of the Act: a power to remove difficulties by order, and two small amendments to other Acts. This article reads all four as the Act as enacted and published in the Gazette of India on 27 May 2015 prints them.
The Act extends to the whole of India and, "save as otherwise provided", comes into force on 1 April 2016 as section 1(3) prints it. The one-time declaration window in Chapter VI and the Rules of 2 July 2015 point to dates in 2015, and the instrument that links the two sets of dates is not in the sources consulted. Section 86 lets the Central Government remove a difficulty by order within two years of the provisions coming into force. Section 87 adds this Act to a list in the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963, and section 88 adds an offence under section 51 to the money-laundering Act's Schedule.
What section 1 says, sub-section by sub-section
Section 1(1) is the short title: the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015. Section 1(2) is the extent: "It extends to the whole of India." The Act then deals with a person's undisclosed income from a source outside India and undisclosed assets located outside India, and the rest of the Act builds on that.
Section 1(3) is the commencement clause. It reads, in substance, "Save as otherwise provided in this Act, it shall come into force on the 1st day of April, 2016." Two things in that wording matter.
- The date is 1 April 2016, as printed.
- It opens with "save as otherwise provided in this Act", so any provision that fixes its own start can stand apart from the general date.
Read together with section 3 of the Act, which charges tax for every assessment year "commencing on or after the 1st day of April, 2016", the commencement clause gives the Act's main charging scheme a start in 2016. For what the Act treats as an undisclosed foreign income or asset, see our reading of the definitions in section 2.
The commencement point the sources leave open
This is the point on which a careful reader should slow down. The Act as enacted prints 1 April 2016 in section 1(3). But other parts of the same texts show a declaration window running in 2015.
| Where it is printed | What it says | Date shown |
|---|---|---|
| Act, section 1(3) | The Act comes into force, save as otherwise provided | 1 April 2016 |
| Act, section 3(1) | Tax is charged for assessment years commencing on or after | 1 April 2016 |
| Act, section 59 (Chapter VI) | A declaration may be made on or after the date of commencement but on or before a date to be notified | A date "to be notified" |
| Rules, rule 3, Explanation 2(a) | For an asset declared under section 59, the date for market value and conversion is | 1 July 2015 |
| Rules, Form 6, Note 1 | Tax not paid before this date makes the declaration void | 31 December 2015 |
The Rules were notified as G.S.R. 529(E) on 2 July 2015. So the Rules, on their face, treat a declaration window in 2015 as live, while section 1(3) of the Act prints April 2016 as the general start. The order or notification that fixes the dates under sections 59 and 63, or that otherwise reconciles these dates, is not among the sources consulted for this article. Nothing here fills that gap. The safe course for any reader is to treat the Act, the notified dates and any later amendment as a set, and to check all three before relying on any single date; if your facts straddle these dates, a legal consultation before you rely on one of them is sensible. Chapter VI is explained in the past tense in our articles on section 59 and sections 60-63, because on the face of the sources that window is closed.
Section 86: power to remove difficulties
Section 86(1) says that if any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of the Act, the Central Government may, by order, "not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act", remove the difficulty. The proviso sets the outer limit: no such order may be made after the expiry of two years from the date on which the provisions of this Act come into force. Section 86(2) requires every order made under the section to be laid before each House of Parliament.
Three practical points follow from the words alone.
- The power is to remove a difficulty in giving effect to the Act. It is not a power to change what the Act provides, because the order must not be inconsistent with the Act.
- The two-year period is counted from the date the provisions come into force. Because the sources do not reconcile that date (see above), this article does not compute an end date for it.
- An order under the section has to go to Parliament. It is not a private communication to officers.
Whether any such order was made is not something the sources show, and this article says nothing on it.
Section 87: amendment of the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963
Section 87 amends section 2 of the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963, in sub-clause (1) of clause (c). It does two things, as printed: it omits the word "and" at the end of item (vii), and, after item (ix) "as so amended", it inserts a new item (x): "the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015; and". The effect, in plain words, is that this Act is added to the list that sub-clause names. The Board that works the Act is described in section 2(5) as the Central Board of Direct Taxes constituted under that 1963 Act.
A drafting point worth noting: section 87 refers to omitting "and" at the end of item (vii) and then inserting a new item after item (ix) "as so amended". The two references to different items are printed as they are; this article does not correct them.
Section 88: a new entry in the money-laundering Schedule
Section 88 amends the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002, in the Schedule, in Part C. After entry (3), which relates to offences against property under Chapter XVII of the Indian Penal Code, it inserts: "(4) The offence of wilful attempt to evade any tax, penalty or interest referred to in section 51 of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015."
So the offence of wilful attempt to evade tax under section 51 of this Act is placed in Part C of the money-laundering Schedule. Our sister series on that Act sets out the entries of that Schedule, including Part B and Part C. This article describes only what section 88 inserts and says nothing about how the money-laundering Act is applied.
Need help with reading the Act against your own foreign assets?
If you hold shares, a bank account, property or an overseas stock award and want to know how this Act's wording and the notified dates apply to your facts, talk to us before you act on any single date. Our team can walk through the text with you and the related income-tax reporting through our legal consultation service.
Key takeaways
- The short title and extent are simple: the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, extending to the whole of India.
- Section 1(3), as printed, brings the Act into force on 1 April 2016, "save as otherwise provided in this Act".
- The Rules of 2 July 2015 and Chapter VI show a declaration window in 2015; the instrument linking that to 1 April 2016 is not in the sources consulted, so check it.
- Section 86 lets the Central Government remove a difficulty by order, within two years of the provisions coming into force, and requires the order to be laid before Parliament.
- Section 87 adds the Act to a list in the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963.
- Section 88 adds the section 51 offence as entry (4) in Part C of the money-laundering Schedule.
- Later Finance Act amendments to these sections must be checked before acting. References to the Income-tax Act, 1961 are as printed in 2015; check the corresponding provision of the current income-tax law, and check current law for the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963 and the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 named here.
Read next
- Black Money Act: undisclosed foreign income, an overview
- Section 2: definitions, assessee and undisclosed asset located outside India
- Section 3: charge of tax on undisclosed foreign income and asset
- Section 59: declaration of undisclosed foreign asset (the closed window)
Disclaimer: Based on the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 as enacted and published in the Gazette of India on 27 May 2015, and on the Rules of 2015 as notified on 2 July 2015, as consulted on 2 October 2026. Later Finance Act amendments, amendment rules and the current income-tax law should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.