The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has advised all taxpayers to review their foreign income and assets before filing their Income Tax Return (ITR) and then fill the information on the same basis.
This advice was given to the taxpayers in the special edition of Income Tax Department ‘Samvad’. This campaign has been started to make taxpayers aware. According to this campaign, the taxpayer should give information about foreign income and assets in ITR only after careful review.
During the session, CBDT Commissioner (Investigation) Shashi Bhushan Shukla said that all Indian citizens will have to provide information about their foreign assets including bank accounts, immovable property, shares, insurance policies.
Apart from this, he said that the Income Tax Department has given a step-by-step guide in the ITR form “Foreign Assets and Income”. With the help of this guide they can provide information about foreign income and assets. He emphasized that this rule applies to resident taxpayers. Information regarding this is given in Section 6 of the Income Tax Act.
Shukla clarified that as per the rules, a resident taxpayer is one who has stayed in India for at least 182 days during the previous year or who has stayed in India for 365 days during the previous four years. If a taxpayer does not fulfill these criteria, he will be treated as non-resident. Non-residents are not required to declare foreign income and assets.
confusion cleared up
Many times, taxpayers who do not have any foreign income or assets, still give this information in the ITR. To end this confusion, Shukla made it completely clear as to which taxpayers will have to give information about foreign assets and income. He also said that even if a taxpayer has purchased a property abroad and is not earning any income from it, information about that property will have to be given in the ITR.
If an NRI comes to India and gets Indian citizenship, he will also have to give information about his foreign assets and income. This rule also applies to foreign nationals when they become citizens of India.
