Can non-resident Indians (NRIs) transfer the proceeds of a property sale to their country of residence? In such a case, will banks collect tax at source even after all tax dues on such sale has been cleared?
—Name withheld on request
NRIs are allowed to remit upto $1 million in a financial year from the balance held in their NRO (non-resident ordinary) account or from the sale proceeds of a property held in India. These sales proceeds must first be credited to their NRO account in India. Any tax due on such sale should have been duly paid by the NRI in India. In case of an NRI, TCS is not applicable for money remitted to foreign accounts from an NRO account.
My US-based father-in-law wants to gift me a house. What will be the tax implications for me as an Indian resident?
—Name withheld on request
There is no tax implication upon receiving a gift from specified relatives. Certain taxpayers have been included in the list of specified relatives under the income tax act, where any gift received from them is tax free.
I work as a merchant navy officer. I was sailing between 1 August 2021 and 31 January 2022 in the last financial year (FY22). In this financial year (FY23), I have been sailing between 1 July 2022 and 30 November 2022. Can you tell me what would be the tax treatment of my income this year?
—Name withheld on request
A seafarer serving on Indian ships outside India for a period of 182 days or more in a year is considered to be a non-resident. However, the time spent by a ship in Indian territorial waters is considered a period of service in India, according to tax rules framed in 1990. The number of days outside India of Indian crew working on such Indian ships gets counted only from the date when the Indian ship crosses the coastal boundaries of India.
Based on the information provided by you, it seems you have spent 153 days in India in the FY 2022-23, in such a case you may be a resident or not ordinarily resident in India for tax purposes.
Archit Gupta is founder and chief executive officer, Clear.in
Updated: 19 Jul 2023, 10:44 PM IST