As a legal US resident, am I still subject to the LRS?
Residential Status as per Income Tax Act
As per the provisions of section 6 of Income Tax Act:
A taxpayer would qualify as a resident of India if he satisfies one of the following 2 conditions:
1. Stay in India for a year is 182 days or more or
2. Stay in India for the immediately 4 preceding years is 365 days or more and 60 days or more in the relevant financial year.
Resident Not Ordinarily Resident
If an individual qualifies as a resident, the next step is to determine if he/she is a Resident ordinarily resident (ROR) or an RNOR. He will be a ROR if he meets both of the following conditions:
- Has been a resident of India in at least 2 out of 10 years immediately previous years and
- Has stayed in India for at least 730 days in 7 immediately preceding years
Therefore, if any individual fails to satisfy even one of the above conditions, he would be an RNOR.
Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, all resident individuals of India, including minors, are allowed to freely remit up to USD 2,50,000 per financial year (April – March) for any permissible current or capital account transaction or a combination of both.
Can I send any amount of funds available with me to my other country accounts without a cap applying to me? It seems if I am a tax paying person with legal residency in USA, I should be able to send my own money there as per my wishes.
There are no restrictions on the frequency of remittances under LRS. However, the total amount of foreign exchange purchased from or remitted through, all sources in India during a financial year should be within the cumulative limit of USD 2,50,000.
Once a remittance is made for an amount up to USD 2,50,000 during the financial year, a resident individual would not be eligible to make any further remittances under this scheme, even if the proceeds of the investments have been brought back into the country.
Resident individuals (but not permanently resident in India) who have remitted their entire earnings and salary and wish to further remit ‘other income’ may approach RBI with documents through their AD bank for consideration.
The limit of USD 2,50,000 per Financial Year (FY) under the Scheme also includes/subsumes remittances for current account transactions (viz. private visit; gift/donation; going abroad on employment; emigration; maintenance of close relatives abroad; business trip; medical treatment abroad; studies abroad) available to resident individuals under Para 1 of Schedule III to Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transactions) Amendment Rules, 2015 dated May 26, 2015. Release of foreign exchange exceeding USD 2,50,000 requires prior permission from the Reserve Bank of India.
What are the purposes under FEM (CAT) Amendment Rules, 2015, under which a resident individual can avail of foreign exchange facility?
Ans. Individuals can avail of foreign exchange facility for the following purposes within the LRS limit of USD 2,50,000 on financial year basis:
- Private visits to any country (except Nepal and Bhutan
- Gift or donation
- Going abroad for employment
- Emigration
- Maintenance of close relatives abroad
- Travel for business, or attending a conference or specialised training or for meeting expenses for meeting medical expenses, or check-up abroad, or for accompanying as attendant to a patient going abroad for medical treatment/ check-up.
- Expenses in connection with medical treatment abroad
- Studies abroad.
- Any other current account transaction which is not covered under the definition of current account in FEMA 1999.
How to claim Tax Credit on Foreign Income of a Resident?
If you are a resident Indian as per the income tax rules, the income earned anywhere in the world is taxable in India for you.
If TDS has been deducted on your income you are allowed to take credit of such taxes. For this purpose, reference has to be made to the relevant Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) of the country where such income has been earned.
Making benefit of a DTAA involves obtaining a Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) that helps identify and certify your tax residency status to make sure the correct DTAA has been applied. This is inline with the tax laws in India.
While taking TDS credit, make sure you are referring to the correct DTAA. Under DTAA, there are two methods to claim tax relief – exemption method and tax credit method. By exemption method, income is taxed in one country and exempted in another. In tax credit method, where the income is taxed in both countries, tax relief can be claimed in the country of residence.
As per the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between India & USA the Taxation may be done on the basis of reason of his domicile, residence, citizenship:
For the purposes of this Convention, the term “resident of a Contracting State” means any person who, under the laws of that State, is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, citizenship, place of management, place of incorporation, or any other criterion of a similar nature, provided, however, that
(a) this term does not include any person who is liable to tax in that State in respect only of income from sources in that State; and
(b) in the case of income derived or paid by a partnership, estate, or trust, this term applies only to the extent that the income derived by such partnership, estate, or trust is subject to tax in that State as the income of a resident, either in its hands or in the hands of its partners or beneficiaries.
(2) Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1, an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then his status shall be determined as follows:
(a) he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available to him in both States, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests) ;
(b) if the State in which he has his centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he does not have a permanent home available to him in either State, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State in which he has an habitual abode ;
(c) if he has an habitual abode in both States or in neither of them, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State of which he is a national;
(d) if he is a national of both States or of neither of them, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall settle the question by mutual agreement.
What are the general permissions available to persons (individual) resident in India for purchase / acquisition of securities abroad?
General permission has been granted to persons (individual) resident in India for purchase / acquisition of securities as under:
a) Out of funds held in the RFC account;
b) As bonus shares on existing holding of foreign currency shares;
c) When not permanently resident in India, from the foreign currency resources outside India.
General permission is also available to sell the shares so purchased or acquired.
A resident Indian can remit, up to the limit prescribed by the Reserve Bank from time to time, per financial year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), for permitted current and capital account transactions including purchase of securities and also setting up/acquisition of JV/WOS overseas with effect from August 5, 2013 (vide Notification No. 263).
Who are eligible to make overseas direct investment under the Automatic Route? Who is an “Indian Party”?
Ans. An Indian Party is eligible to make overseas direct investment under the Automatic Route. An Indian Party is a company incorporated in India or a body created under an Act of Parliament or a partnership firm registered under the Indian Partnership Act 1932 or a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) incorporated under the LLP Act, 2008 and any other entity in India as may be notified by the Reserve Bank. When more than one such company, body or entity makes investment in the foreign JV / WOS, such combination will also form an “Indian Party”
What are the limits and requirements for overseas direct investment to be made under the Automatic Route?
The criteria for overseas direct investment under the Automatic Route is as under:
i). The Indian Party can invest up to the prescribed limit of its net worth (as per the last audited Balance Sheet) in JV/WOS for any bonafide activity permitted as per the law of the host country. The prescribed limit vis-a-vis the net worth will not be applicable where the investment is made out of balances held in the EEFC account of the Indian party or out of funds raised through ADRs/GDRs;
ii). The Indian Party is not on the Reserve Bank’s exporters’ caution list / list of defaulters to the banking system published/ circulated by the Credit Information Bureau of India Ltd. (CIBIL) /RBI or any other credit information company as approved by the Reserve Bank or under investigation by the Directorate of Enforcement or any investigative agency or regulatory authority; and
iii). The Indian Party routes all the transactions relating to the investment in a JV/WOS through only one branch of an authorised dealer to be designated by the Indian Party.
What is the procedure to be followed by an Indian party to make overseas direct investment in a JV/WOS under the Automatic Route?
The Indian Party intending to make overseas direct investment under the automatic route is required to fill up form ODI duly supported by the documents listed therein, i.e., certified copy of the Board Resolution, Statutory Auditors certificate and Valuation report (in case of acquisition of an existing company) as per the valuation norms listed in answer to Q.31 and approach an Authorized Dealer (designated Authorized Dealer) for making the investment/remittance.
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