THE NRI GUIDE

Table of Contents of this book . . .

1. Procedure to apply for lower TDS 2. Capital Gains on Property tax rate 3. Capital Gain Exemption under Section 54 4. Capital Gain Exemption under Section 54F 5. Capital Gain Exemption under Section 54 EC 6. Renting Property in India 7. Non-Residents renting out their property 8. Types of rental agreements 9. Leave and License agreements 10. Drafting a Leave and License Agreement 11. Difference Lease Agreement - Leave & License 12. Register Leave and License Agreement 13. Tips when giving property on Leave and License 14. NRI Property – FAQ 15. Can NRIs rent out their property in India 16. Misperception on NRI definition 17. Who is considered to be a person of Indian origin? 18. Status of OCI holder living in India 19. Foreign spouse of Indian citizen – Banking 20. Foreign spouse of Indian citizen – Property Investment 21. Who is considered to be a person resident in India? 22. Residential status in India 23. What is Income Tax Act 1961? 24. What is FERA? 25. What is the Foreign Exchange Management Act 26. Who is considered to be Non-Resident 27. Acquiring foreign citizenship 28. Disadvantage of acquiring foreign citizenship 29. Effects of renouncing Indian citizenship 30. Renunciation of citizenship affects your minor children 31. Will minor child lose citizenship if one parent takes foreign citizenship? 32. Advantages of acquiring foreign citizenship for NRIs 33. Canada PR Cards Residency Obligation 34. Dual Citizenship - OCI 35. OCI is not dual citizenship 36. Benefits allowed to OCI holders 37. OCI Parity with NRIs - Clarification 38. Ambiguity in benefits - OCI living in India 39. Restrictions on OCI holders 40. Eligibility criteria for OCI 41. PIO card status after PIO scheme canceled 42. Foreign spouse of Indian citizen - OCI 43. OCI rules for foreign born children of Indian Citizens 44. Who is Not Eligible for OCI 45. How to apply for OCI 46. OCI applications from abroad or India 47. OCI Registration Procedure & Documents Required 48. Before Starting Online Application 49. OCI - Documents required for new registration 50. OCI Applications for Minor Children 51. OCI - Application for spouse of foreign origin 52. Other acceptable documents for OCI 53. Original Documents Requirement for OCI applicants 54. OCI fee for applications made abroad 55. Surrender certificate requirement 56. OCI photo guidelines 57. Approval of OCI application 58. Processing Time for OCI 59. OCI applications in India 60. OCI fee in India 61. OCI fee Refund 62. OCI disadvantages for US citizens 63. Cancellation of OCI status 64. Cancellation of OCI registration by government 65. Renunciation of OCI 66. Renewal of OCI Visa for OCI holders 67. Renewal of OCI is required 68. Requirement to carry original U Visa passport 69. Changes to OCI ‘U’ Visa Record 70. Using OCI Miscellaneous Services 71. OCI Miscellaneous Services Online 72. OCI Miscellaneous Services in India 73. How to use OCI Miscellaneous Services 74. Fee for OCI Miscellaneous Services 75. Lost – Damaged OCI Documents 76. Recording Address Changes on OCI 77. PIO Card Scheme Canceled 78. Lifetime Validity stamp for PIO card holders 79. Travel to India with PIO Card 80. PIO Card Scheme Cancellation – Overview 81. Existing PIO Card holders must apply for OCI 82. How to apply for OCI in Lieu of PIO Card 83. Citizenship in India 84. How to Acquire Indian Citizenship 85. Citizenship by birth 86. Citizenship by Descent 87. Citizenship by Registration 88. Citizenship by Naturalization 89. Citizenship by Incorporation of territory 90. Extended Stay in India may not guarantee Citizenship 91. PIO/OCI Acquiring Indian Citizenship 92. Loss of Indian Citizenship 93. Registration birth at Indian Consulate 94. Advantages of registering birth 95. Documents required for birth registration 96. Foreigners Regional Registration Office Guide 97. Services at FRRO Offices 98. Checklist for Registration Formalities at FRRO 99. Passport Surrender & Renunciation 100. Passport Surrender Rules Explained 101. Surrender & Renunciation Certificate Difference 102. Late Passport Surrender Penalties 103. Documents required to get surrender certificate 104. Outsourcing of services by Indian Consulates 105. Indian - Visa Options 106. Two month gap period rule for tourist visa 107. Two month gap period rule now removed 108. Types of Indian Visa 109. Tourist Visa 110. Fast Electronic Tourist Visa (e-TV) 111. How to apply for electronic Indian tourist visa 112. Electronic Tourist Visa (e-TV) Eligibility 113. Business Visa 114. Employment Visa 115. Student Visa 116. Entry Visa 117. Long Term Entry Visa 118. Conference Visa 119. Journalist Visa 120. Research Visa 121. Transit Visa 122. Medical Visa 123. Medical Escort Visa 124. Overstay of visa in India 125. What to do in case of visa overstay 126. Leaving India after visa has expired 127. Transferring valid visa to new passport 128. How to transfer Visa to new passport 129. No Requirement to Transfer OCI Visa 130. Restricted Areas 131. Tax Clearance Certificate Requirement to Leave India 132. What is a tax clearance certificate? 133. Persons who may require tax clearance on departure 134. Persons who may not require tax clearance certificate 135. How to get a Tax Clearance Certificate 136. Aadhaar Card Requirement for NRIs 137. OCI holders & PIO living in India need Aadhaar 138. Pan Card 139. Myths about Pan Number 140. What do the numbers on your PAN mean 141. PAN – Excellent form of photo ID 142. Not All PAN Card holders have to file tax returns 143. PAN not compulsory for PIO/OCI holders 144. Should Persons of Indian origin get a PAN? 145. Benefits of having PAN Card 146. How to get a new Pan Card 147. Applying for Pan Card from Abroad 148. How to check if your PAN is valid 149. How to check your PAN card status online 150. NRIs exempt from quoting PAN 151. Documents accepted as proof of identity 152. PAN Card Fee 153. Paying PAN Card Fee from Abroad 154. AO Number on Pan Card Application 155. PAN Card Agents in India 156. How to make changes to your PAN card record 157. Cancel duplicate PAN Card 158. Pan card requirement to make cash purchase 159. Sample of form to use if you don’t have PAN 160. Taxation in India 161. NRI global income not taxed by simply staying more than 182 days in India 162. When should NRIs file income tax returns in India? 163. NRI taxation in India 164. Types of residential status categories for tax purposes 165. Conditions that make NRIs resident for tax purposes 166. Tax liability of ‘Resident and Ordinarily Resident’ 167. Tax liability of ‘Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident’ 168. Pensions – Repatriation - Taxation 169. Sending pension money abroad – rules simplified 170. Remit Pension funds abroad procedure 171. Pension Income Taxed in India or abroad? 172. Life Certificate for Indian Pensions 173. Dual Taxation - DTAA 174. Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements 175. Points to consider on tax treaties (DTAA) 176. How to claim tax benefits in India under DTAA 177. Tax residency certificate 178. Tax residency certificate in USA 179. How to get a tax residency certificate in India 180. Lower TDS for NRIs by availing DTAA benefit 181. Paying Taxes in India 182. Tax Slabs for the Financial Year 2017/2018 183. Financial year in India 184. Tax slab 2017-2018 - Assessment Year 2018-19 185. Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) 186. TDS reduction for PIO under DTAA 187. TDS on the sale of property by NRIs in India 188. TDS on rental income in India 189. New TDS rule if rent over Rs. 50,000. 190. Refund of TDS deducted on bank interest 191. NRI Bank Account Holders info to be shared 192. What is CRS? 193. What is FATCA? 194. FATCA – CRS Difference 195. Reporting thresholds under FATCA, FBAR & CRS 196. CRS effect on NRI Bank Account Holders 197. What information will be exchanged under CRS? 198. FAQ - CRS - NRI bank account data sharing 199. Remittances to India – Money sent to India from abroad 200. How much money do NRIs send to India? 201. CRS – FATCA effect on NRI bank accounts 202. Advantage of closing NRI bank account in India 203. Currency fluctuation – Indian Rupee vs US Dollar 204. Tax tips for US Citizens living in India 205. Who is a considered a ‘Resident Alien’ in USA 206. U.S. tax liability basis 207. Penalties for not filing U.S. taxes 208. What is worldwide income for U.S. Citizens 209. IRS news release in Hindi 210. Filing Requirements for U.S. Citizens in India 211. Minimum Income Requirement to file U.S. Tax 212. US Citizens living abroad benefit by filling taxes 213. U.S. Citizens having bank account in India 214. Reporting foreign bank accounts (FBAR) 215. FBAR filling for OCI holder residing in India 216. Failure to file foreign bank accounts report 217. Statute of limitations for US Taxes 218. Advantages to filling U.S. Taxes from India 219. Foreign Earned Income Exclusion 220. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) 221. FATCA Reporting - How it works 222. FATCA India – USA Reporting 223. IRS Reporting Importance for U.S. NRIs 224. UK Citizens living in India 225. Tax tips for UK Expats 226. Who is a resident or non-resident in the UK 227. Who is automatically considered UK resident 228. Automatically considered UK non-resident 229. How to declare Non- Residency in UK 230. How not to lose your non-resident status in UK 231. Maintain UK Non-resident status – Save on UK taxes 232. Canadian citizens in India 233. Steps to take when leaving Canada permanently 234. Australian Citizens living in India 235. Property in India - Information 236. Purchase of property by foreign companies 237. RBI notification not required to purchase property 238. Property purchase by foreigners 239. Gifting property to NRIs 240. Property gifting restrictions 241. Foreigners require RBI permission to gift property 242. Tax on Gifts 243. When is gifted property taxed in India? 244. Gift of money to cover black money 245. Wealth tax in India abolished 2015-2016 FY 246. Inheriting property by NRI 247. Who can inherit immovable property in India 248. Tax when inheriting property 249. Sale of properties owned by NRIs 250. NRI Selling residential/commercial property 251. Sale of agricultural land in India 252. Mortgaging property held in India 253. Paying abroad for property located in India 254. Payments for property purchase by NRIs 255. Turning legal money into illegal money! 256. Purchasing Property in India 257. Demonetization effect on Property Prices in India 258. Buying land in India 259. Land ownership record check 260. How to obtain encumbrance certificate 261. Limitations of Encumbrance Certificates 262. Release Certificate for a property 263. Get a loan to buy property even if don’t need it 264. Consider Ready to Move in Property 265. Advantages of Buying Ready to Move in Homes 266. Precautions when buying property in India 267. Title Report – When purchasing property 268. Purchasing Property under Construction 269. NRI Selling Property in India 270. TDS Deduction on Sale of NRI Property 271. Capital Gains Tax for Indian Residents & NRI is same 272. Why is the TDS higher for NRIs? 273. TDS when buying property from Indian Resident 274. Pay Lower or NIL TDS on Sale of NRI Property 275. How to get TDS Exemption 276. Repatriation of rental income 277. What is deemed rental income 278. Tax on rental income in India 279. Rental income taxed in the country of residence 280. Capital gains taxation on property 281. Short term capital gain – New Rules from 2017 282. Long term capital gain 283. Capital gain in case of inherited property 284. Exemption from Capital Gains 285. Undervaluing sale price of property to save taxes 286. Minimum set price for property registration 287. Costs involved to transfer property ownership 288. What is stamp duty & how property registration works 289. How is Stamp Duty Paid? 290. Understanding capital gains on sale of property 291. Cost Inflation Indexing 292. Using Cost inflation index to lower capital gain 293. Formula to find the indexation factor: 294. Step by step example to calculate capital gain 295. Calculate final long term capital gain 296. Cost Inflation India Chart 2001 - 2018 297. Capital Gains – Changes announced in 2017 298. Short or Long Term Capital Gain – Change in 2017 299. How capital gains on sale of property is taxed in India 300. Cost inflation index for prior years 301. Cost inflation index base year changed - April 1, 2017 302. Calculate capital gains if no CFI number is available 303. How is fair market value determined? 304. Repatriate money from sale of property 305. Legal method to repatriate money from India 306. How to repatriate money from sale of property 307. CA Certificate – Proof of taxes paid 308. What is Form 15CA? 309. Requirement to file Form 15 CA/CB – update 310. Transfer of Funds Abroad – Acceptable purpose list 311. Documents bank may require to remit funds abroad 312. Plan repatriation of funds 313. Ten year lock in if property purchased in Indian currency 314. Buying Agricultural land 315. Conversion of Agricultural Land 316. How NRIs can acquire agricultural land in India 317. Foreigners acquiring Agricultural Land in India 318. Sale scams involving agricultural land 319. Agricultural land use for new business venture 320. Agricultural land owned before becoming NRI 321. NRIs gifting agricultural land they own in India 322. Sale of agricultural land owned by NRI/PIO 323. Sale of agricultural land owned by foreigners 324. Sending foreign currency out of India 325. Form 15CA – Form 15CB may NOT be required 326. Small value remittances of foreign exchange 327. Liberalized Remittances Scheme of USD 250,000 328. Allowed under Liberalized Remittances Scheme 329. Restrictions prohibited items under LRS Scheme 330. NRI Paying foreign loans from India 331. Send money using the Liberalized Remittance Scheme 332. Frequency of sending money 333. Remittance of current income 334. Remittance of assets from India by a foreigner 335. Remit funds abroad from NRO Account 336. Who is an authorized dealer of foreign exchange 337. Sending money abroad from NRE account 338. Deposit Current Income in India to NRE Account 339. Repatriation of inherited assets 340. Banking in India 341. Type of Bank Accounts for NRIs 342. Non Resident Ordinary Bank Account (NRO) 343. Non Resident External Bank Account (NRE) 344. Foreign Currency Non Resident account (FCNR) 345. Deposit Insurance on NRI accounts in Indian Banks 346. Transfer funds from NRO to NRE Account 347. Joint accounts with local residents 348. Holding Foreign Currency Accounts in India 349. Difference between NRE and FCNR Account 350. Depositing foreign currency in NRE accounts 351. Foreign currency declaration form requirement 352. Using Indian Bank Accounts to earn more interest 353. Exchange Earner's Foreign Currency Account 354. International Credit Cards 355. Tax deduction at source by Indian banks (TDS) 356. Money Laundering Prevention Rules in India 357. Know your customer (KYC) 358. Proof of Legal name to open bank account 359. Acceptable Proof of Permanent Address 360. Bank customers categorized 361. Payments in cash 362. Status of NRO/NRE accounts on return to India 363. Deposit Insurance in India on bank accounts 364. Deposit Insurance Comparison 365. Bank Accounts-India-FAQ 366. Power of Attorney [POA] 367. Types of Power of Attorney 368. Irrevocable or Revocable Power of Attorney 369. Valid Power of Attorney ingredients 370. Tips – When drafting Power of Attorney 371. Sending Power of Attorney to India from Abroad 372. Investing in the Indian Stock Market 373. What exactly is a Demat account 374. Demat Accounts for NRIs - PIO 375. The definition of PIO 376. Demat Accounts - Information for NRIs 377. RBI approvals to open Demat accounts 378. Types of Demat accounts 379. Repatriable Demat Account 380. Non-Repatriable Demat Account 381. Paper stocks already held 382. What does dematerialization of stocks mean? 383. How to dematerialize paper shares 384. Re-materialization 385. Investments, shares, debentures & mutual funds 386. Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) 387. General Information about PIS account 388. Why PIS required by NRIs and PIO 389. Non-PIS Account 390. Portfolio Investment Scheme FAQ 391. Investing in Initial Public Offerings 392. NRI investments in government securities 393. Investing in National Savings Certificates 394. Investment in 100% Export Oriented Units 395. Investments prohibited for NRIs 396. Securities & Exchange Board of India - NRI Cell 397. Precautions for Investment in Securities 398. Reverse Mortgages - India 399. Why Reverse Mortgages not successful in India 400. Loans for NRIs 401. Housing loans in India 402. Conditions applicable to housing loans for NRIs 403. Repayment of housing loans by non-residents 404. Housing Loans from employer 405. Renovation Loans for NRI/PIO 406. Business Loans for Returning NRIs 407. Hundred percent loans for new business 408. Business Loans & Financial Assistance 409. Credit Guarantee Scheme (MSME) 410. What are Micro & Small Enterprises? 411. Manufacturing Enterprise 412. Service Enterprise 413. Who is eligible for loans & where to apply 414. New Industry setup in India 415. Governments help for new entrepreneurs 416. MSME development help 417. National Small Scale Industries Corporation (NSIC) 418. NRI Business Opportunities 419. Business Setup in India 420. Business setup problems in India 421. Setting up of a business organization in India 422. Description of companies 423. Private Limited Companies 424. Public Company 425. Register a new company in India 426. Steps to register a new company 427. Registration process of small businesses 428. Licenses & Approvals required for a small business 429. Options on setting up business in India 430. Business Ideas 431. Benefits of Franchise 432. Government incentives for New Business 433. Setting up an Industry in India 434. Setting up Industrial Unit in India 435. Incentive for Backward Areas 436. State Government Incentives 437. Incentives offered by State Governments 438. Examples of incentives by state governments 439. EOU - 100% Export Oriented Unit 440. Incentives to EOU 441. Software Technology Parks 442. Benefits of STP Scheme 443. Procedure to become STP Member 444. Starting a new manufacturing unit in India 445. What are Sick Units 446. Sick Industrial Units – A Goldmine for Investors 447. How Loans for Industrial Ventures are given 448. Revive sick manufacturing unit 449. Buying a Sick Industrial Unit 450. Return to India planning 451. Points worth considering before Returning to India 452. Planning date of return to save taxes in India 453. Status of Person after Return to India 454. Assets held abroad - Points to consider 455. Bank Accounts of NRIs returning to India 456. Benefits of Resident Foreign Currency (RFC) accounts 457. Customs duty in India 458. How customs duty is calculated in India 459. Duty Free Allowances for Tourists 460. Duty free allowances 461. Items NOT allowed in duty free allowances 462. Foreign Tourists visiting India duty free allowance 463. Pakistani Origin tourist’s duty free allowance 464. Re-export option if unable to pay duty 465. Import of Gold by passenger 466. Import of Gold by Non-Residents 467. Conditions applicable to gold import as baggage 468. Taking jewelry out of India by passenger 469. Import of Silver 470. Import of Jewelry 471. Transfer of Residency – Customs duty 472. Transfer of Residence Rules (TR) 473. Duty free under Transfer of Residence 474. Value of goods allowed under TR rules 475. Items allowed duty free under transfer of residence 476. Leaving India after Transfer of Residence 477. Presence required during customs clearance 478. Calculation of customs duty on baggage items 479. Calculating Customs Duty on used items 480. Automobile imports 481. Car Imports on Transfer of Residence by NRI 482. Rules for NRI car imports 483. Car import to India under Transfer of Residency 484. Documents for customs clearance of cars 485. Depreciation allowed on car import by NRI 486. Calculating custom duty on car’s 487. Car Import guidelines 488. Importing Cars for physically handicapped Persons 489. Temporary Import of car to India 490. Firearm import 491. How to apply for Fresh Arms License? 492. Renewal of Firearm License 493. License Renewal Time 494. Medical license to practice in India 495. MCI to be replaced by National Medical Commission 496. Foreign doctors practicing in India 497. MCI Test Exemption for Foreign Doctors 498. Eligibility Certificate from MCI - Requirement 499. Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) 500. New Exit Test to practice medicine in India 501. Right to Information Act (RTI) 502. RTI for Non-Residents 503. RTI - Public Information Officers 504. How to submit RTI application 505. RTI Fee 506. Time limit for Response under RTI 507. Recourse in case of refusal 508. RTI – Points to remember 509. Exit Visa from India 510. Exit Visa Requirement 511. Exit Visa when passport lost or stolen 512. Exit Visa for new born child 513. Foreign exchange allowance 514. Taking Indian currency in/out of India 515. Frequently asked questions on Foreign Exchange 516. Insurance policies of NRIs 517. Schools in India 518. Stages of School Education in India 519. School Syllabus in India 520. Secondary School Certificate (SSC) 521. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) 522. Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) 523. International General Certificate Sec. Ed. (IGCSE) 524. International Baccalaureate (IB) 525. Selecting a school in India 526. List of Schools in India - City-wise