The Swiss Federal Supreme Court’s decision that the Swiss authorities can share such confidential information with India even if persons who are ultimate beneficiaries have not received any money from secret offshore trusts and numbered bank accounts has dashed the hopes of many resident Indians who were counting on the court to stop, or at least delay, the flow of data to the income-tax department here.

Rich Indians’ legal representatives have argued before Swiss courts that the Indian tax office cannot tax the beneficiaries in the absence of any distribution of funds from foreign trusts, so such personal financial information is irrelevant.

But over the past two weeks, the top court has ruled repeatedly that it will not pass judgement on the justifications for the information requests made by the Indian government or whether those requests will be used to support tax claims. The Supreme Court ruled that Switzerland will provide information to India upon request without considering the information’s ultimate relevance or intended use.