FAST-DS 2026:
Missed Foreign Asset Disclosure? What You Must Know Before Filing

FAST-DS 2026 - officially described on the Income Tax Portal as the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme, 2026 (FADS 2026) - is now available on the e-Filing portal as a one-time compliance opportunity for eligible taxpayers. Form 1 is available online. That makes this a real compliance window - but not a reason to file blindly.

90-Second FAST-DS Checkup

FAST-DS 2026 (FADS 2026) Scheme Matrix

The two-category problem

The scheme contains materially different routes.

The statutory framework must be checked against the exact facts. The Government's official material confirms that the scheme was enacted as the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme, 2026. The Income Tax Department now confirms that Form 1 is enabled on the portal. Home | Income Tax Department

Why the source of the asset matters

Consider:

Foreign salary while NRI → foreign bank account → savings retained abroad → return to India → foreign account omitted from Schedule FA

This is not automatically the same fact pattern as:

Indian-resident taxpayer earns taxable foreign dividend → does not report dividend → continues holding foreign shares. The asset and the income are separate questions.

Your FAST-DS pathway

Is ₹20 lakh a "foreign asset exemption"?

No - do not use it that way. The ₹20 lakh figure is relevant to specified Black Money Act penalty/prosecution provisions for certain assets. It is not a universal permission to ignore Schedule FA.

Keep these concepts separate:

Disclosure obligation ≠ Penalty/prosecution threshold. This distinction is critical.

Category 1: when the 60% headline can matter

Where Category 1 applies, the statutory structure can result in:

30% tax + equal additional amount = 60%

Illustration

The scheme has a ₹1 crore aggregate ceiling for the relevant Category 1 route. That is why classification should happen before payment.

Category 2: why legitimate RSU/returning-NRI cases deserve separate analysis

A taxpayer may have:

• foreign shares acquired from already-taxed Indian income;
• foreign assets acquired from qualifying income while non-resident;
• legitimate overseas savings;
• dormant foreign bank accounts.

If the problem is omission of the asset disclosure rather than undisclosed taxable income, the Category 2 framework may be relevant. The statutory conditions must be tested individually.

FAST-DS Readiness Score

Give yourself 1 point for each item you can document:

A high score does not itself establish eligibility. It means your facts are better documented.

FAST-DS Document Checklist

Identity & residence

Foreign assets

Tax trail

Valuation

The most useful FAST-DS decision tree

What you should NOT do

• File because "the deadline is near."
• Assume every omitted Schedule FA item is Category 1.
• Assume every old foreign account is Category 2.
• Invent historical balances because statements are unavailable.
• Ignore foreign dividends simply because the underlying shares were disclosed.
• Treat ₹20 lakh as a universal foreign-asset exemption.
• File Form 1 before reconstructing the full fact pattern.

The correct sequence

Not:

FILE → PAY → HOPE

Deadline tracker

FAST-DS 2026

Scheme: one-time compliance opportunity

Form: Form 1

Portal: e-Filing → Income Tax Forms → Other Acts → FADS 2026

Deadline: verify the currently notified filing deadline before submission.

The Income Tax Department has confirmed that Form 1 is available on the portal and that CBDT notified the rules and prescribed forms under Notification No. 114/2026 on 1 September 2026.

What happens after filing?

The scheme provides relief/immunity for covered matters subject to its statutory conditions and payment requirements. That does not make every historical tax issue disappear. The declaration needs to correctly identify the matters being regularised.

Bottom Line

If you missed Schedule FA, don't panic. But also, don't blindly file FAST-DS. First establish: what was missed → when → source → residential status → taxability → value → category. The difference between Category 1 and Category 2 can be enormous. That is exactly why this is a classification exercise before it is a filing exercise.

Need your foreign-asset history mapped?

Anmol Aniket and Associates works with:

Returning NRIs · US RSUs/ESPPs · foreign bank accounts · foreign brokerage · overseas employment · foreign dividends · Schedule FA · FSI/TR · FAST-DS NRI & Cross-Border Tax Advisory

Frequently Asked Questions

Is FAST-DS 2026 currently available?

Yes. The Income Tax Department has enabled Form 1 for the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme, 2026 on the e-Filing portal.

Is FAST-DS simply a 60% tax scheme?

No. The consequences depend on the applicable category and statutory conditions.

I forgot to report my US RSUs. Do I automatically pay 60%?

No. First establish how the shares were acquired, whether the underlying income was already taxed, your residential status and whether the Category 2 conditions apply.

I was an NRI when I earned the money in my foreign account. Does that matter?

Yes. Residential status and the year/source of acquisition can materially affect the analysis.

Does ₹20 lakh mean I don't need to report a foreign asset?

No. Do not treat the ₹20 lakh penalty/prosecution threshold as a universal disclosure exemption.

What if I missed only foreign dividends?

The dividend is an income question separate from the underlying asset. Review the year-wise taxability and reporting.

Can a current NRI use FAST-DS?

Potentially, depending on whether the person falls within the scheme's statutory definition based on the relevant historical year and acquisition/income facts.