Non-residents
will not have to quote Aadhaar or its enrolment ID for filing income tax
returns (ITRs) or for securing PAN, income tax department said
There are more than 25 crore PAN
card holders in the country while Aadhaar has been issued to 111 crore people.
Photo: Hindustan Times
New Delhi: Non-residents will not have to quote Aadhaar or
its enrolment ID for filing income tax returns (ITRs) or for securing permanent
account numbers (PAN), the income tax department on Wednesday clarified.
The move addresses concerns among migrants who
have resided in India for 182 days or more in the preceding 12 months as
defined in the Aadhaar Act, 2016. The tax department’s move is significant as
non-residents may be few in numbers, but may be key decision makers in the
corporate sector.
A statement from the department said the tax law
was amended through Finance Act, 2017 requiring mandatory quoting of Aadhaar or
the enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of return of income and
for making an application for allotment of PAN with effect from 1 July.
This requirement, however, shall not apply to an
individual who is not a resident as per the Aadhaar Act, 2016, the department
clarified.
Experts welcomed the move but said it would have
been better if the relief was made available to expats who stay in India for
slightly longer period.
Amarpal Chadha, tax partner and India mobility
leader, EY India, said, “It will be more beneficial if the exception could be
extended even to those individuals who qualify as
‘resident-but-not-ordinarily-resident’ under the Income Tax Act. These are
generally expatriates who come to India for a duration of two to three years.
These expatriates are anyway required to apply for a permanent account number
for deposit of taxes,” said Chadha.
No comments:
Post a Comment