India exempts NRIs from quoting Aadhaar in tax returns
Although NRIs are exempted from income tax on their income abroad, they have to file tax returns for their income earned in India.
The Indian government has exempted Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from the requirement of quoting Aadhaar (Indian biometric ID card) number while filing income tax returns back home.
Although NRIs are exempted from income tax on their income abroad, they have to file tax returns for their income earned in India.
Many Indians in the UAE, who regularly file income tax returns in India but do not have Aadhaar, were worried after the government move to link Aadhaar with PAN (Permanent Account Number) issued by income tax authorities for tax and financial transactions by June 30, 2017.
On March 30, a top Indian official clarified to Gulf News that NRIs were not eligible for Aadhaar and government departments had to give exemptions to NRIs in this regard. They were waiting for announcements on exemptions.
“It is the responsibility of the relevant departments to give exemption to NRIs [on Aadhaar requirement],” Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), had told Gulf News in a telephone interview from New Delhi. The departments can get a declaration from the NRI that, being an NRI, he or she is not eligible for Aadhar card, he had said.
On Wednesday, India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) made the first such announcement on an exemption. The requirement to quote Aadhaar for filing income tax returns and for making an application for allotment of PAN with effect from July 1, 2017 shall not apply to non-residents [NRIs], according to a CBDT press release.
It clarified that an Indian is considered a resident if he/ she has resided in India for a period or periods amounting in all to 182 days or more in the 12 months immediately preceding the date of application [for relevant services or documents like Aadhaar].
Welcoming the move, Indian expatriates in the UAE said all other government departments and private players should also give similar exemptions to NRIs for all services and transactions.
one witness, the crater formed while the bus was stationery and passengers were disembarking from it. “The road caved in slowly. Perhaps, that is why people were able to escape unharmed,” he said.
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