Non Resident Indians often find themselves under tax investigation from the Indian Income Tax Department. This tax scrutiny often arise due to some very basic tax compliances that are either overlooked by their tax attorneys, consultants or representatives in India
NRI Services Inc., has been helping a large number of NRI’s by not helping them while they come under the scrutiny of the Indian Income Tax Department but also by taking pre-emptive measures so as to ensure that not only their chances of facing scrutiny are minimized but by also advising these NRI’s of all the tax compliances beforehand, we ensure our solutions adhere to all of the following;
1. FATCA Advisory
2. Obtaining Lower Tax Withholding Certificates u/s 195(2), 195(3) & 197
3. Drafting Tax Opinions on Complex & Litigation Prone Intricate Tax Issues
4. Tax Assessments under the ITA 1961
5. Applications before Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR)
6. DTAA Advisory
7. Obtaining Tax Residency Certificates (TRC) from Tax Jurisdictions of USA, UK, Canada, Australia, UAE etc.
8. NRI Return Filing under the ITA 1961
9. Planning Tax Residency in India
10. Advice on selecting tax effective jurisdiction for entry into India
Our clients are not compelled to come to India to seek advice on their tax issues, we have robust IT Systems which enable our customers to interact with us via email and/or video conference calls.
Our team helps NRI’s navigate the understanding of the tax situation being faced by them in India, we promptly advise the solutions at hand and then to close the representation engagements, we provide them with all the documents, Power of Attorneys for tax representation, which are signed and sent to our teams in India, without the NRI’s having had to even come to India once
Recently we have started representing NRI’s in cases relating to Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 & Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 in India.
Our team has been instrumental in resolving some very high profile Tax Cases of NRI’s in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Chandigarh & Ludhiana tax offices
One of our popular Services which is to assist in obtaining the Lower Tax Deduction Certificate on Sale of Real Estate in India by NRI’s, or on Investment Incomes accruing to NRI’s in India from investments made by them in Mutual Funds, Equities, Bank Deposits, Liquid Funds etc.
Per the provisions of Section 195(2) & Rule 29B of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961 we routinely advise and help NRI’s in obtaining Lower/Nil Tax Withholding Certificates from the International Taxation Wing of the Indian Tax Department which not only saves considerable tax for NRI’s but also imparts clarity on the taxability on the incomes accruing under different heads of income. Morever the obtainence of such Lower/Nil Tax Withholding Certificates also helps avoid the subsequent chances of going into tax scrutiny by the Indian Tax Department since tax refunds are almost negligible
We are one of the few companies which help NRI’s in sourcing their Tax Residency Certificates (TRC’s) from the respective tax authorities of USA, UK, Canada, Australia, UAE etc. Section 90 & 90A of Indian Income Tax Act, 1961 contain certain beneficial tax withholding provisions for NRI’s in case they furnish their TRC’s to their banking partners in India.
NRI Services Inc. has been helping NRIs bring down their tax withheld liability drastically by claiming benefits under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements signed by the Indian Govt. with more than 100 countries as of date.
Often non-resident Indians (NRI) residing abroad have incomes in India. In such cases, it is possible that the income earned in India would attract tax in India as well as in the country of the NRI’s residence. This means that they would have to pay tax twice on the same income. However, to avoid doing so, there are tax treaties called the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) that NRIs can benefit from
To claim this benefit, one needs to know whether the country one resides in or earns income in has a DTAA with India. One has to file Form 10F, a Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) and self declaration in the prescribed format to the entity responsible (banks, mutual fund companies, corporate etc.), which NRI Services Inc. helps facilitate.
Understanding DTAA
The Double Tax Avoidance Agreement is a treaty that is signed by two countries. The agreement is signed to make a country an attractive destination as well as to enable NRIs to take relief from having to pay taxes multiple times. DTAA does not mean that the NRI can completely avoid taxes, but it does mean that the NRI can avoid paying higher taxes
in both countries
DTAA rates
The DTAA signed by India with different countries fixes a specific rate at which TDS has to be deducted on income paid to residents of that country.This means that when NRIs earn an income in India, the TDS applicable would be according to the rates set in the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement with that country and not the normal higher tax rates
Income types under DTAA
Under the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement, NRIs don’t have to pay tax two times on the following income earned from:
• Fixed deposits in India
• Salary received in India
• House property located in India
• Capital gains on transfer of assets in India
• Savings bank account in India
• Services provided in India
When income from these sources is taxable in the NRI’s country of residence as well, they can avoid paying taxes on it India by availing the benefits of DTAA.
Tax residency certificate (TRC)
A Tax Residency Certificate must be obtained from the country in which the person was residing in a particular financial year. A tax residency certificate is issued on submission of required documents and payment of prescribed fees, e.g. Tax Residency Certificate in the case of UAE Residents is issued by Federal Tax Authority, Dubai Office and Abu Dhabi Office on the payment of Nominal Fee of AED 500
Countries that India has a DTAA with
India has signed a Double Tax Avoidance Agreement with most major nations where Indians reside. Some of these countries are:
| S.No. | Country | Withholding tax on Interest |
| 1. | Australia | 15% |
| 2. | Canada | 15% |
| 3. | France | 10% |
| 4. | Germany | 10% |
| 5. | New Zealand | 10% |
| 6. | Singapore | 15% |
| 7. | United Arab Emirates | 12.5% |
| 8. | United Kingdom | 15% |
| 9. | United States | 15% |
Another very high demand service provided by our team is the obtainence of Pan Cards for Non Residents who are based outside India. We are perhaps the largest sourcing agency of Pan Cards for our NRI Clients in India and again our NRI Clients just either place a call or email their documentation to us for obtaining their Pan Cards which are posted to their foreign addresses.
We are NRI Services Inc. rarely have ever met any of our NRI Client who has got their PAN Card issued to us
Documents acceptable as Proof of Identity and Address for NRI PAN:
| Proof of Identity | Proof of Address | Proof of date of birth |
| Indian Citizens (including those located outside India) | ||
| Individuals & HUF | ||
(i) Copy of
(ii) Certificate of identity in Original signed by a Member of Parliament or Member of Legislative Assembly or Municipal Councilor or a Gazetted officer, as the case may be (in prescribed format); or (iii) Bank certificate in Original on letter head from the branch(along with name and stamp of the issuing officer) containing duly attested photograph and bank account number of the applicant (in prescribed format) |
(i) Copy of
(ii) Copy of following documents of not more than three months old
(iii) Certificate of Address in Original signed by a Member of Parliament or Member of Legislative Assembly or Municipal Councilor or a Gazetted officer, as the case may be (in prescribed format) (iv) Employer certificate in original (in prescribed format). |
Copy of
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| Note: 1. In case of Minor, any of the above mentioned documents as proof of identity and address of any of parents/guardians of such minor shall be deemed to be the proof of identity and address for the minor applicant.2. For HUF, (a) An affidavit by the karta of the Hindu Undivided Family stating the name, father’s name and address of all the coparceners on the date of application; and (b) Copy of any document applicable in the case of an individual specified above, in respect of karta of the Hindu undivided family, as proof of identity, address and date of birth. |
Note: 1. Proof of Address is required for address mentioned in item no.7.2. In case of an Indian citizen residing outside India, copy of Bank Account Statement in country of residence or copy of Non-resident External (NRE) bank account statements (not more than three months old) shall be the proof of address. |
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Merchant Mariners/Sea Farers Taxation
Many of the merchant mariners/sea farers find themselves scratching their heads computing their tax liabilities in India depending on their number of days stay in India. A vast majority of the tax practitioners in India do not understand the concept of staying on board the ship/staying in territorial waters in India or outside those territorial waters thereby many a times advising their mariner clients with less that desired conviction
NRI Services Inc. has a dedicate desk for planning tax exposure of these merchant mariners/sea farers and has uptil now advised probably hundreds of these mariners and have guided them to plan their stay both in and outside India, so that their tax exposure is minimised in India
In once very recent case dealt by NRI Services Inc. Team, a Merchant Mariners case was disposed off by the Chandigarh Based International Taxation Wing of the Indian Income Tax Department within a couple of minutes based on the in depth understanding of the concept of days stay of the merchant mariner in India and the tax remedies available
For help with complex NRI or Expatriate tax return matters, feel free to schedule a conference call or office appointment by emailing: info@nriservices.in or call (+91) 987 644 5400 Consultation fee: $250 per hour