Foreign bank accounts: Anil Ambani gets interim protection from coercive action under Black Money Act

The Bombay HC has granted interim protection to Anil Ambani while examining his challenge to provisions of the Black Money Act

Team PGurus

June 10, 2026

The Bombay HC has granted interim protection to Anil Ambani while examining his challenge to provisions of the Black Money Act

Anil Ambani challenges Black Money Act, gets HC protection

The Bombay High Court has granted interim protection from prosecution and penalty to debt-sunken industrialist Anil Ambani in a tax evasion case, while admitting his petition challenging the constitutional validity of provisions of the Black Money Act. Ambani, in his plea, said certain provisions of theUndisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Act, 2015, were “ultra vires” (beyond powers/violative) ofthe Constitution of India.

According to Income Tax, Anil Ambani has foreign Bank accounts with undisclosed funds in the two accounts, which have been assessed by tax officials at Rs.8,14,27,95,784, and tax payable on this amount at Rs.4,20,29,04,040.

A bench of Justices B P Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla on Tuesday noted that there are other petitions filed in HC against the Act and admitted Ambani’s plea, which will be taken up for final hearing in due course. The court directed the Union government to file its affidavit in response to the plea.

The Mumbai HC noted that an assessment order against Ambani has already been passed and that he has filed an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals). “The said appeal can proceed, and orders can be passed thereon. However, we clarify that no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioner, including that of prosecution and penalty, till the hearing and final disposal of this writ petition,” the HC said.

The Income Tax Department issued a notice to Ambani on August 8, 2022, for evading Rs.420 crore in taxes on undisclosed funds of more than Rs.814 crore held in two Swiss bank accounts. As per the department’s notice, Ambani was liable to be prosecuted under Sections 50 and 51 of the Black Money Act, which stipulates a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment with a fine.

The department has charged Ambani with “wilful” evasion, claiming he “intentionally” did not disclose his foreign bank account details and financial interests to Indian tax authorities. Ambani, in his petition, claimed that the Black Money Act was enacted in 2015, and the alleged transactions are of assessment years 2006-2007 and 2010-2011. As per his plea, the provisions of the Act cannot have a retrospective effect.

According to the I-T department’s notice, Ambani was an “economic contributor as well as beneficial owner” of a Bahamas-based entity called ‘Diamond Trust‘ and another company called Northern Atlantic Trading Unlimited (NATU), which was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The department said that Ambani “failed to disclose” these foreign assets in his income tax return (ITR) filings and hence contravened provisions of the Black Money Act.

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