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FAST-DS 2026 — The Foreign Asset Amnesty Scheme, Explained for Tech Employees

8 min read · Published July 2026 · Based on the Finance Act, 2026 as enacted

The short version: If your RSU or ESPP income was already taxed through payroll but you never declared the shares in Schedule FA, FAST-DS 2026 lets you settle every past year for a flat ₹1,00,000 fee — with immunity from the ₹10 lakh per year Black Money Act penalty and from prosecution. The scheme is enacted but not yet open: the start date is still awaiting Gazette notification.
In a hurry? Get your asset details ready before the window opens — upload your broker files and let ITRFA.in compute them. Generate Schedule FA now →

What FAST-DS 2026 is

The Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme, 2026 is a one-time voluntary disclosure scheme enacted as Chapter IV (sections 130–144) of the Finance Act, 2026, which received presidential assent on 30 March 2026. It gives taxpayers a window — described in the Budget speech as six months — to declare foreign assets or foreign income they failed to report, pay a fixed amount, and receive statutory immunity from further tax, penalty and prosecution under the Black Money Act for the declared items.

This scheme was written with people like ITRFA.in's users in mind. The Finance Minister's Budget speech (1 February 2026, para 111) says it addresses the practical issues of "small taxpayers like students, young professionals, tech employees, relocated NRIs, and such others." The single most common fact pattern: RSUs vested at a US employer, perquisite tax deducted in payroll, capital gains reported on sale — but the Fidelity or Schwab account and the shares themselves never disclosed in Schedule FA.

The two categories

Section 133 of the Act sets out a table with two routes. Which one you fall into decides whether this costs you ~60% of the asset or a flat ₹1 lakh.

Category A — never taxedCategory B — taxed, but Schedule FA missed
What it covers Undisclosed foreign assets, or foreign income that was chargeable to tax in India but never offered to tax. Assets acquired from income already offered to tax in India, or from income earned while you were a non-resident — but not declared in Schedule FA of your return.
What you pay 30% tax on the asset's fair market value as on 31 March 2026, plus 30% tax on undisclosed foreign income, plus a penalty equal to 100% of that tax — roughly 60% overall. A flat fee of ₹1,00,000, regardless of how many years were missed.
Ceiling Aggregate undisclosed asset value + income ≤ ₹1 crore. Asset value ≤ ₹5 crore.
What you get Immunity from further tax, penalty and prosecution under the Black Money Act for the declared income/asset, for previous years ending on or before 31 March 2026 (section 139). The declared amount is not added to your total income (section 136).

Why most RSU/ESPP holders are Category B

For a typical tech employee, the income side was never the problem. RSU vests are taxed as salary perquisite through payroll and sit in Form 16. ESPP discounts are taxed the same way. Sale gains usually get reported in Schedule CG. What gets missed is the asset disclosure — the Schedule FA tables for the foreign brokerage account and the shares in it. That is exactly clause (b) of Category B: "asset acquired from income which has been offered to tax… but such assets were not declared by him in the relevant Schedule in the return of income."

The other Category B clause covers returned NRIs: shares acquired from salary earned abroad while non-resident, never declared in Schedule FA after moving back to India. Both fact patterns settle for the same flat ₹1 lakh.

A worked example

Priya joined a US-headquartered company in Bengaluru in 2021. RSUs vested in FY 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25; perquisite tax was deducted every time, and she reported the one sale she made in Schedule CG. But she filed ITR-1 each year — which has no Schedule FA — so the Fidelity account and roughly ₹40 lakh of vested shares were never disclosed.

  • Her exposure without the scheme: a potential ₹10,00,000 penalty per defaulting year under the Black Money Act, plus prosecution risk — for three years, that is up to ₹30 lakh on fully taxed income.
  • Under FAST-DS Category B: one declaration, a ₹1,00,000 fee, and statutory immunity for all of it.
Small holdings may not even need the scheme. Section 160 of the Finance Act 2026 amended the Black Money Act retrospectively (from 1 October 2024): the ₹10 lakh penalty under sections 49/50 does not apply where the aggregate value of foreign assets (other than immovable property) is ₹20 lakh or less. If your total foreign holdings never crossed ₹20 lakh, your exposure was already removed — though correct Schedule FA filing is still mandatory going forward.
Sound like Priya's situation? Pull your broker history now so it's ready the moment the window opens. Generate your Schedule FA data →

Current status: enacted, not yet open

  • Enacted: Finance Act 2026, Chapter IV — assent on 30 March 2026.
  • Commencement: section 130(2) leaves the start date to a Central Government notification in the Official Gazette. As of July 2026, no commencement notification has been issued.
  • Last date: also left to notification (section 131(1)(g)). Some websites claim the window "closes 31 December 2026" — no such date exists in the Act. The Budget speech describes a one-time 6-month window from commencement.
  • Rules and forms: the declaration form, payment procedure and — importantly — the method for computing fair market value are all yet to be prescribed (section 143).
Do not attempt to declare anything before the scheme is notified — a declaration can only be made on or after the date of commencement (section 132). And a declaration with any false particular is treated as invalid (section 134(3)), which forfeits the immunity.

The fine print worth knowing

  • Payment timeline (section 135): after electronic verification, the department communicates the payable amount within a month; you then have two months to pay, extendable by two more with 1% per month simple interest.
  • Non-refundable (section 138): amounts paid under the scheme cannot be claimed back, and you cannot use the declaration to reopen or revise completed assessments (section 137).
  • Excluded (section 140): proceeds of crime under PMLA proceedings, and years where a Black Money Act assessment is already completed.
  • Pending proceedings (section 141): if assessment proceedings are pending, the Assessing Officer takes your declaration into account while finalising them.

What to do now (before the window opens)

  1. Work out your category. If every rupee behind the foreign shares was taxed (payroll perquisite, Schedule CG on sales), you are looking at Category B and a ₹1 lakh settlement.
  2. Pull your broker history now. The declaration will need accurate, year-wise asset details. Export your Fidelity NetBenefits, Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, or Morgan Stanley files and build the same data Schedule FA needs — acquisition dates, initial values, peak and closing balances, converted at SBI TTBR rates. The Schedule FA generator computes all of it from your files in minutes.
  3. File AY 2026-27 correctly regardless. The scheme only covers years ending on or before 31 March 2026. Your current return, due 31 July 2026, must carry a complete Schedule FA either way.
  4. Engage a CA for the declaration itself. An amnesty filing is one place where professional sign-off is worth it — especially on valuation once the FMV rules are notified.

FAQ

No. The scheme is enacted but comes into force only on a Gazette-notified date, which has not been issued as of July 2026. A declaration filed before commencement has no legal effect.

If the underlying income was already taxed and only Schedule FA was missed, Category B applies: a flat ₹1,00,000 fee (asset value up to ₹5 crore), with immunity from further tax, penalty and prosecution under the Black Money Act.

Category A is for assets or income never taxed at all — roughly 60% of value, capped at ₹1 crore aggregate. Category B is for assets from already-taxed (or non-resident period) income where only the Schedule FA disclosure was missed — flat ₹1 lakh, capped at ₹5 crore.

Yes — a current non-resident or RNOR can declare if they were resident in India in the year the income arose or the asset was acquired. Typical case: shares acquired while working in India, owner has since relocated abroad.

Not in the Act. Both the start and last dates are left to Gazette notification. The 6-month window mentioned in the Budget speech will run from whenever commencement is notified.

No. Immunity covers previous years ending on or before 31 March 2026. Your AY 2026-27 return still needs a complete Schedule FA, due 31 July 2026.
Get your Schedule FA data ready before the window opens

Upload your Fidelity, Schwab, E*TRADE, or Morgan Stanley files. ITRFA.in computes Table A2, A3 and F with correct SBI TTBR rates — the same asset details a FAST-DS declaration will need.

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Related guides

Primary sources

Informational only, based on the Finance Act, 2026 as enacted and the status of notifications as of July 2026. Scheme dates, forms and valuation rules are pending notification and may change — verify before acting, and consult a chartered accountant for any amnesty declaration.