Abu Dhabi: Non-resident Indians (NRIs) need not link Aadhar, India’s biometric identity card, to Permanent Account Number (PAN) issued by the income tax authorities, the Indian Consulate General reiterated in a press release issued on Tuesday.
The requirement of quoting the Aadhar number when filing the income tax return also shall not apply to NRIs, who are not eligible to get Aadhar. Aadhar card enrolment is presently available to residents in India only as per Section 3 of Aadhar Act, 2016.
Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders who stay in India for a long time (over 182 days in 12 months immediately preceding the date of application for enrolment) and have an Indian address can also enrol for Aadhar card in India. NRIs, although they are citizens of India, are not eligible for Aadhar card if they have not stayed for more than 182 days or more in the last 12 months. Upon completion of 182 days of their stay in India in the last 12 months immediately preceding the date of application for enrolment, NRIs can apply for Aadhar card, said the press release.
As Gulf News exclusively reported on March 30, Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), said in a telephone interview from New Delhi that the authority was not supposed to issue Aadhar card to NRIs. “They [NRIs] cannot get a [Aadhar card].”
While applying for Aadhar card, he explained, Indians have to make a declaration in the application stating that he/she is a resident (not an NRI).
As Gulf News reported on April 11, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi had also announced that Aadhar was not mandatory for obtaining a driver’s licence or a SIM card in India.
Aadhar is one of the several documents recognised for address proof of the applicant, it said.
Gulf News reported on June 19 that Indian expatriates living across the globe need not worry about any possible problems with their financial or income tax transactions in India for not having an Aadhar.
Despite the exemption previously announced by the Indian authorities, many NRIs expressed their concerns about disruption of transactions in NRE (Non-Resident External) bank accounts in India and filing the income tax returns.
As PAN was already made mandatory for holding a bank account, NRIs were concerned about a June 30 deadline to link Aadhar with PAN.
Failure to link Aadhar 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 would also affect NRIs who invest in Indian stock market, for which PAN is mandatory.
However, an Indian government notification alleviated these concerns.
The requirement of quoting Aadhar number shall not apply to NRIs for filing the income tax returns and for making an application for PAN with effect from July 1, 2017, according to the notification issued by the Central Government on May 11.
As Gulf News reported on April 7, India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had also made a similar announcement.
