Given the lifestyle one gets accustomed to having stayed back outside India for long, there are NRIs who return back to India only for some short term work assignment BUT have a clear intention to move out of India after the said assignment is over. And to what I came to know to my pleasant…

In case of cross border transactions, there may be a situation that tax is withheld or paid in other country however the transaction is also taxable in India. In such situations, Section 90 and 91 of Income Tax Act (ITA) allows credit of such foreign tax however there was a lack of procedural clarity on…

Recently, while advising a returning NRI client, I came across a situation where he had to overstay in India in this financial year because of his mother’s illness and he wanted to check whether he qualified as a resident as per Indian tax law – and if he did so, what will be the implications…

Today we will discuss about the rules and regulations in India on citizenship as well as the Overseas Citizenship Scheme launched by the Government in 2005. Citizenship and Tax Residency are 2 different things First things first, let us understand that as per Indian law, citizenship is different from tax residency. While the former is…

As per the Income Tax rules in India, an NRI is not required to hold a Permanent Account Number (PAN). However, in case he/she needs to enter into a financial transaction or wish to file a tax return in India, a PAN is required. This is especially gaining importance due to recent regulatory changes where…

I’ve written quite a few posts on applicability of FEMA in transactions by residents as well as non-residents (Read: Posts on FEMA). One question that crops up in mind of a few clients that I’ve worked with who by ignorance of FEMA, stepped on the wrong side of FEMA law and now want to know…

Some days back, I was working on a profile a USA based NRI who was finding it tough to invest in Indian mutual funds but also did not want to lose out on India’s long term growth story. I tried to find out if there are dedicated funds in USA that invest in India. In…

It is almost a standard compensation practice that employers follow for its employees working in overseas locations to have a tax equalisation policy. Because of lack of awareness, expats face an issue as to whether to offer the hypothetical tax in tax return or not. Good news is that there are ample judgements by Indian…

Private trust is an instrument used mainly by HNI families or families having special needs children, for effective succession planning. There are many benefits of forming a private trust, over a will. However private trust creation and ongoing trust management necessitates a cost, which makes it viable only if a high corpus is available. In…

It is well known that an NRI can invest in India via a portfolio investment scheme (PIS) route i.e. by purchasing and selling shares on a stock exchange through a Depository Participant. As regards PIS investment, I have already written a detailed post on it, you can refer it here:  How returning NRIs can invest…