The income tax act of India requires that an income tax return must be filed in India for any income earned by an individual from India.
Expatriates whose status is ‘non-resident’ or ‘resident but not ordinarily resident’ as per income tax act of India have to file an income tax return in India if they have earned an Income in India.
As per the Income tax act of India, all individuals who are resident in India have to file an income tax return in India and pay tax on their global income in India. Expatriates also have to file an income tax return in India if their status is ‘resident’ as per income tax laws of India.
You can find out your residential status as per the Income Tax Act of India by using our Residential Status Calculator.
The new income tax return form, ITR-2 requires that ‘Residents’ must report their foreign assets in their tax return.
However, if you are an Expatriate or non-Indian citizen on business, employment or student visa to India you are not mandatorily required to disclose your foreign assets if –
- Your status as per Indian tax laws was ‘non-resident’ when these assets were acquired, AND
- These foreign assets did not generate any income in the financial year 2014-15
Therefore, income earning foreign assets which may or may not have been acquired when you were a non-resident, have to be reported in ITR-2 and tax paid on such income by expatriates who are ‘resident’ in India basis Indian tax laws.