FOR MANY INDIANS who studied or worked overseas, a foreign bank account is simply a legacy account. It may have been opened to receive salary, scholarship or meet living expenses and may have remained open after he returned to India. Such accounts can come under the tax department’s radar. The Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme, 2026 (FAST-DS), which came into force on August 16, 2026, provides an opportunity to disclose specified foreign assets and income that were not declared in their income tax return (ITR). The last date for making a declaration is December 31, 2026.