Short answer: the declaration form is on the portal as Form 1-FADS26, under e-File → Income-tax Forms → File Income Tax Forms. Filing it is the first of four steps, the last date is 31 December 2026, and the payment clock does not start until the department responds. Two things in the rules are worth knowing before you open it: a 20% valuation tolerance, and an outer payment limit after which the scheme simply stops applying.
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FADS Form 1 is live: filing the foreign assets declaration
CA K Sanjay Bhargav, Chartered Accountant, Bengaluru
Membership No. 250054 · DISA (ICAI)
Published
What changed
The scheme has existed since 16 August 2026, when the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers - Disclosure Scheme Rules, 2026 came into force under G.S.R. 732(E) dated 14 August 2026. What did not exist was the form.
It does now, which turns an open question into a decision with a date on it.
FADS or FAST-DS?
The same scheme. Its formal name is the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers - Disclosure Scheme, 2026; the initials give FAST-DS, which is how most commentary refers to it. The portal labels the form FADS26 and the rules the FADS Rules 2026. If a search for one turns up nothing, try the other.
The last date is now fixed in the rules
Worth being precise, because the Act and the rules do different jobs here. Section 131(1)(g) of the Finance Act, 2026 does not state a date — it defines the last date as whatever the Central Government notifies. Rule 2(4) is that notification, and it says the last date is 31 December 2026.
So the date is real and it is now in a published rule rather than an expectation. It also means it sits somewhere that a further notification could change, which is worth remembering if you are reading this in December.
What Form 1 asks
Four parts, and the shape tells you what to gather.
Part A — who you are. Name in full without abbreviations, a full address, PAN, and passport number and details. Note 3 requires the passport where you claim to have been non-resident in any year covered by the declaration — which is the evidential backbone of an entry 2 claim.
Part B — each asset or item of income, repeatable:
- Which of the four types in the Section 133 Table it is
- The previous year of acquisition or earning
- Your residential status in that year — resident, non-resident or RNOR
- Proof of acquisition, uploaded
- The nature of it: bank account, immovable property, jewellery, artistic work, shares and securities, any other asset, or income
- A description, in the Annexure
For a bank account the Annexure asks for the bank, country, account holders, account number, the account opening date, and the sum of all credits — which is the valuation itself, not a balance.
Part C — the totals against the ceilings. Entry 1 items aggregate to a figure that must not exceed ₹1 crore; entry 2 items to one that must not exceed ₹5 crore. The form makes the two ceilings structural: you cannot fill it in without confronting them.
Part D — the amount. The form computes at 60% of the entry 1 figure, plus a fee of nil or ₹1 lakh. Note that the form itself flattens the statutory 30% tax plus 100% of that tax into a single 60%.
The verification. You declare the information correct and complete, you acknowledge that "any misrepresentation or suppression of facts will render this declaration as void", and you certify that Section 140 is not attracted.
Section 140, which you certify yourself
Two things sit outside the scheme entirely:
- Income or assets representing, directly or indirectly, proceeds of crime where proceedings have been initiated or are pending under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002
- Income or assets relating to an assessment year for which assessment proceedings under the Black Money Act, 2015 have been completed
You are not asked whether you think these apply. You certify they do not.
The 20% tolerance most summaries miss
Section 134(3) says a declaration is deemed invalid if a material particular is false at any stage. Read alone, that is alarming for anything involving a valuation — a foreign flat or a holding of unquoted shares is an estimate, and estimates get challenged.
Rule 5(2) qualifies it. Where the fair market value of an asset declared in Form 1 differs from the value an officer determines in a later assessment or inquiry, the declaration is not treated as invalid on grounds of misrepresentation or false particulars merely because of that variance, so long as the variance does not exceed 20% of the value you declared.
Two things to take from that. A defensible valuation has room in it. And the tolerance expressly does not cover a bank account — because a bank account is not valued by judgement but by adding up every deposit, and there is nothing to be tolerant about.
Where no valuation is carried out at all, Rule 3 and Note 5 to the form both provide that the indexed cost of acquisition is deemed to be the fair market value — a fallback worth knowing before commissioning a valuer.
Four forms, and a payment clock inside them
- Form 1 — your declaration
- Form 2 — the department's order determining what is payable
- Form 3 — filed by you after payment, with proof of it
- Form 4 — the order certifying the declaration and payment are valid
Only Form 4 closes the matter, and Rule 8 requires it within one month from the end of the month in which you file Form 3.
The clock that matters runs between Form 2 and Form 3, and it is set out in Rule 7:
| From the end of the month the Form 2 order is passed | |
|---|---|
| Within 2 months | No interest |
| Beyond that | 1% for every month or part of a month of delay |
| Beyond 4 months | The benefit of the scheme is not available |
The rules illustrate it on an order passed 22 September 2026: interest-free to 30 November, 1% a month after that, and nothing accepted at all after 31 January 2027.
That last row is the one to sit with. This is not a penalty for paying late; it is the scheme ceasing to apply. A declaration filed in good faith and paid five months after the order buys nothing.
Before you open the form
- Which entry your facts fall in — 60%, or ₹1,00,000
- The value as on 31 March 2026, on the rules' own basis. A bank account is not valued at its balance
- Whether you are eligible at all — the ceilings are cliffs, not bands, and NRIs are not automatically outside
- The passport record, if any year is claimed as non-resident
- The full credit history of any account, not a closing certificate
- What declaring costs beyond the money — what you give up
The wider picture is in the FAST-DS pillar.
This is a working reference on the scheme and the filing sequence, not advice on a particular declaration. The rules described are those notified by G.S.R. 732(E) of 14 August 2026, read with Chapter IV of the Finance Act, 2026; the last date sits in Rule 2(4) and could be changed by a further notification. Whether to declare at all, and under which entry, turns on facts that should be settled before anything is filed — the verification you sign states that misrepresentation or suppression renders the declaration void.
Download the Schedule FA peak balance worksheet
The month-by-month working that computes peak value for you, the account and holdings tables with the source for every field, and a pre-filing checklist. CSV — opens in Excel or Google Sheets.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the FADS form on the e-filing portal?
Under e-File, then Income-tax Forms, then File Income Tax Forms, where it appears as Form 1-FADS26. Submission mode is online only and the filing type offered is Original. It is filed from the declarant's own PAN login, and verified either under digital signature — where the return of income requires one — or otherwise through an electronic verification code, under Rule 9.
Is it called FADS or FAST-DS?
Both refer to the same scheme. Its formal name is the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers - Disclosure Scheme, 2026, notified by G.S.R. 732(E) dated 14 August 2026 and in force from 16 August 2026. The initials give FAST-DS, which is how most commentary refers to it. The portal labels the form FADS26. If a search for one finds nothing, try the other.
When exactly does the window close?
31 December 2026. Section 131(1)(g) of the Finance Act, 2026 does not fix the date itself — it defines the last date as whatever the Central Government notifies. Rule 2(4) of the FADS Rules 2026 is that notification, and it states the last date is the 31st day of December, 2026. Because the date sits in a rule rather than in the Act, it could in principle be changed by a further notification.
What does Form 1 actually ask for?
Four parts. Part A is basic information — name, full address, PAN, and passport details, which Note 3 requires where you claim to have been non-resident in any year declared. Part B takes each asset or item of income: which of the four types in the Section 133 Table it is, the previous year of acquisition or earning, your residential status in that year, proof of acquisition, and the nature of the asset — bank account, immovable property, jewellery, artistic work, shares and securities, any other asset, or income. Part C aggregates the values against the two ceilings. Part D computes the amount payable at 60% of the entry 1 figure plus a nil or ₹1 lakh fee.
How long do I have to pay after the declaration?
The clock runs from the end of the month in which the department's order in Form 2 is passed. Two months from that point carries no interest. Beyond it, interest runs at 1% for every month or part of a month of delay. The outer limit is four months from the end of the month of the order — pay after that and the benefit of the scheme is not available at all. Rule 7 works this through on an order dated 22 September 2026: interest-free to 30 November, then 1% a month, and nothing accepted after 31 January 2027.
What if the department later values my asset differently?
Rule 5(2) provides a tolerance, and it is the most useful thing in the rules. Where the fair market value of an asset declared in Form 1 differs from the value an officer determines in a later assessment or inquiry, the declaration is not treated as invalid on the ground of misrepresentation or false particulars merely because of that variance, provided the variance does not exceed 20% of the value you declared. Note the exclusion: it does not apply to a bank account, whose value is arithmetic rather than judgement.
Is anyone excluded outright?
Yes, and you certify it yourself in the verification. Section 140 puts two things outside the scheme: any income or asset representing, directly or indirectly, proceeds of crime where proceedings have been initiated or are pending under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002; and any income or asset relating to an assessment year for which assessment proceedings under the Black Money Act, 2015 have already been completed. The Form 1 verification requires you to certify that Section 140 is not attracted.
Ready to declare, or still deciding?
Send the years, the type of asset and roughly what it is worth. Which entry of the Table you fall in, what the number will be, and whether the facts hold are settled before Form 1 is opened — the verification you sign says misrepresentation renders the declaration void.
Related service: Foreign Income / RSU & ESOP