What NRIs need to know about tax liability

Amendments to the Finance Act 2021 have given rise to debate on the criteria used to define NRI status, qualification of people who are resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR), treatment of various incomes for liability, tax deducted at source, applicable tax rates and taxation under double taxation avoidance agreements for NRIs in the Gulf region.

This article will answer some of your queries

Dividend earned by NRIs is taxable in India

 Effective FY21 and onwards, any dividend income from shares of an Indian company is taxable in India. If a shareholder qualifies as a ‘non-resident’ in India under the India income tax law, the dividend income is taxable at 20% plus applicable surcharge and 4% health and education cess on gross basis.

Read more details here

Ravi Pillai likely to rejoin Dhanlaxmi Bank's Board

NRI-business man Ravi Pillai, who holds a 10 percent stake in the Kerala-based Dhanlaxmi Bank, may be planning to return to the private lender’s board as a non-executive director (NED), moneycontrol reported.

The possible return follows a change in a Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) rule that now allows non-executive directors to remain board members till the age of 75.

Read the full story here

NRIs forced to live with low returns on dollar deposits

Non-resident Indians will have to live with low returns on foreign currency deposits in the foreseeable future as major Indian banks are set to slash rates on foreign currency non-resident bank (FCNR-B) deposits.

State Bank of India, India’s largest commercial bank, recently cut interest rates on US dollar denominated deposits of one and two-year periods for NRIs by 11 basis points to 2.47%.

Many other public sector Indian banks are expected to slash interest rates on their FCNR-B deposits and as well as on NRI rupee deposits, which will also impact the rupee deposits of NRIs.

Read the full story here 

RBI enhances scope of non-resident rupee accounts

To popularise cross-border transactions in Indian rupee, the Reserve Bank has enhanced the scope of 'Special Non-resident Rupee' (SNRR) by allowing persons residing outside India to open such accounts for purposes like external commercial borrowing and trade credit in INR.

The RBI, in a notification on Friday, said: "With a view to promote the usage of INR products by persons resident outside India, it has been decided, in consultation with the Government of India, to expand the scope of SNRR Account by permitting person resident outside India to open such account for external commercial borrowings in INR; trade credits in INR..."

Read full report here

NRIs can now apply for Aadhaar on arrival without 182-day wait

Non-Resident Indians with valid Indian passport can now apply for Aadhaar on arrival, without the 182-day waiting period, a government notification showed Monday. The government notification brings into effect a budget proposal on the same issue.

Full report here

Redraw investment plan in slowdown, NRI investors told

Investment advisers are asking clients to redraw their investment plans in view of the unprecedented slowdown in the economy and the alarming pace of deceleration and large scale exit of foreign institutional investors from the Indian market.
Falling market is good opportunity for long-term investors and cherry-picking
Read more here

Why NRIs love to invest in India?

Investing in India is a great way to create wealth while helping the country's economy. Some NRIs plan to return to India while others simply want to participate in the Indian Economy.
Read the column by Founder & CEO of Cube Wealth

Aadhaar card for NRIs coming soon. 5 things to know about UIDAI's new plan

Following announcement by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech two months ago, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is gearing up to ready its infrastructure to issue Aadhaar cards to non-resident Indians (NRIs) holding Indian passports on their arrival in the country.

5 things to know about UIDAI's plan to issue Aadhaar cards to NRIs:

Tax breaks galore for non-resident Indians on property

Over the years, Non-resident Indians (NRIs) have invested substantial sums into Indian real estate either purely from investment perspective or due to an emotional attachment to their country of origin.

Either way, the Indian government sees this as an important source of fund inflows into the country.

And, to make real estate buying even more attractive, the government offers multiple benefits to NRIs by way of tax exemptions etc.
Read the full story in Gulf News

Goa govt plans scheme to attract investment from Goan NRIs

The Goa government wants to attract investment from Non-resident Indians (NRI) of Goan origin, especially the seafarers, in sectors such as housing, Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai said Tuesday.

He was addressing a program organised by the Goan Seamen Association in Margao to mark `The International Day of the Seafarer', celebrated on June 25.

The question was "whether we should rely on Delhi-based investors for investment" or encourage "our own Goans who are Seafarers to invest in the state", he said.
Full report here

Global income is taxable in India if you qualify as a resident of the country

If an individual qualifies as 'resident and ordinarily resident' in India, their global income would be taxable in India...
Your NRI queries answered by liveMint

Govt scholarships for NRI students for 2019-20 academic year

The Ministry of External Affairs in India's Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children (SPDC) for non-resident Indian (NRI) and PIO card holder students is open for the 2019-20 academic year.

Full details here

The NRI's guide to bank accounts in India - 2019

Whether you are a non-resident Indian (NRI) who is moving back to India or looking to invest in India, or you are a resident who has recently been granted NRI status, the first thing you need to do is have the right bank account to manage your money.

Unlike regular citizens of India, NRIs cannot have standard savings accounts in Indian banks. The determination of NRI status is not as per the popularly known Income-Tax Act, but FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act). FEMA uses intent as the basis to determine residential status. So, once you have moved residence (and child’s school) across the shores, this clearly denotes intention, and hence your residential status changes.

Read the full article here

NRI students can avail scholarships in India for 2019-20 academic year

The Ministry of External Affairs in India's Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children (SPDC) for non-resident Indian (NRI) and PIO card holder students is open for the 2019-20 academic year.

The SPDC scheme provides financial assistance for specific undergraduate courses in professional and non-professional courses, except medical sciences and related courses.

Full report here

The great NRI dilemma — rupee or dollar?

Non-resident Indians have a plethora of investment options and have to choose the one that suits them best.

Every NRI has surely been troubled by this question: should I invest in India or should I not? A complex cocktail of emotions ranging from love for their motherland and a sense of guilt for not giving back to it combine with personal choices to often lead to a wrong answer to the question above.

This article in The Hindu explains the various possibilities

NRI landlords under scanner for tax liability

NRIs with rental income in India, beware. Indian taxmen will chase you on the lead given by your own tenant, if you don’t come clean on filing your tax returns when you earn more than the stipulated threshold income in India.

“Property is one of the most preferred asset classes for NRIs for the rental income, though many NRIs believe they need not pay any tax on the rents they receive. They have to, but with some riders,” said Benoy Sasi, international lawyer at the DIFC, who practises tax law in India.

A recent notification from the Indian tax authority stipulated that NRI landlords are required to pay 31.2% of the rent as tax, unless they furnish certificates stating that their total income in India is below the tax exemption limit.

Read the full article on International Adviser

US plans to increase H1B visa application fee

The Donald Trump administration is proposing a hike in the H-1B visa application fee to increase funding for the expansion of an apprentice programme, which trains American youths in technology-related activities, Labour Secretary Alexander Acosta told US lawmakers.

Testifying before a Congressional committee on an annual budget of the Department of Labour for the fiscal year 2020 beginning October 1, 2019, Acosta, however, did not give details of the proposed increase in H-1B filing fee and as to which categories of applicants it would be enforced on.

Read more on CNBCTV18

How NRIs can open NPS account online

NRIs can open a National Pension System (NPS) account. It provides tax breaks of up to Rs 1.5 lakh under Sec 80C and Rs 50,000 under Sec 80CCD(IB).

The NRI can open an NPS account online if he has a PAN card and a bank account.

Read the whole process here 

IDBI Bank launches paperless account opening facility for NRIs

IDBI Bank has launched the ‘NRI-Insta-Online’ account-opening process for NRIs residing in Financial Action Task Force (FATF) member countries, it said in a release.
Read the full story here