The revised Indo-Swiss tax treaty, which will allow India to seek secret bank account details from January 1 this year, is expected to be approved without a national referendum in Switzerland, a top Swiss official said.
"By October, it will be clear whether we will have a referendum or not... I have a strong feeling that by October 6, we will be able to say that there will be no referendum.
"My feelings tell me that there will be no need for a referendum," Swiss Ambassador to India Philippe Welti told PTI in an interview.
The revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between the two nations, that would allow India to seek details about its citizens having unaccounted money in Swiss banks, was approved by Switzerland's Parliament on June 17.
After ratification by Parliament, the treaty is open to scrutiny by Swiss people for 100 days, which ends on October 6. If there is an opposition to the agreement, the same would be subject to a national referendum.
"If I am proven right, it means that after October 7, we will inform the Indian government that we [Swiss government] are ready for exchange of information," Welti said.
Amid raging debate over the issue of black money stashed overseas, latest figures from Swiss National Bank show that total deposits of Indian individuals and companies with all the Swiss banks was collectively about $2.5 billion at the end of 2010.
