Abu Dhabi: The head of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which issues Aadhaar, told Gulf News on March 29 that it was the responsibility of relevant government departments to exempt Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from producing Aadhaar for official transactions and services. Many government departments have since announced such exemptions.
Although it is mandatory for Indian residents to quote Aadhaar when filing tax returns and applying for PAN (Permanent Account Number, which is issued by income tax authorities for tax and financial transactions) with effect from July 1, 2017, NRIs are exempted.
India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes announced this exemption on April 7 and the Department of Revenue at the Ministry of Finance reiterated it on May 11.
Although NRIs are exempted from paying income-tax on their income abroad, they have to file tax returns on income earned in India, for which PAN is mandatory.
PAN holders were also asked to link Aadhaar with PAN by June 30, but NRIs were exempted.
As PAN was already made mandatory for holding a bank account, NRIs were concerned about the June-30 deadline to link Aadhaar with PAN. Failure to link Aadhaar with PAN makes PAN redundant and hence some NRIs feared that this could affect their banking transactions.
PAN is already mandatory to make cash deposits above Rs50,000 (Dh2,850) with banks in India. A redundant PAN will also affect NRIs who invest in the Indian stock market, for which PAN is mandatory. However, the government notification on May 11 alleviated such concerns.
As Gulf News reported on April 11, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi announced that Aadhaar was not mandatory for obtaining a driver’s licence or a SIM card in India.
Aadhaar is one of several documents recognised as address proof in India.
Other government organisations, which demand Aadhaar for official transactions and services, are expected to announce exemptions for NRIs in the coming days, as instructed by the UIDAI CEO.
