The Central Board of Indirect Taxes vide its notification dated 8th May 2020 has issued a clarification in respect of residency status under section 6 of The Income-tax Act, 1961 for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and foreign nationals who stranded in India due to nationwide lockdown imposed in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The Non-resident Indians (NRIs) who came to the country before the lockdown, don’t have an option to return till travel restrictions are lifted. However, the number of days these NRIs stays in India decides their onus of income-tax compliance. Therefore in order to avoid genuine hardship, CBDT has issued an order u/s 119 vide this circular to exclude the period of stay in India of that individual who could not leave India due to COVID-19 pandemic from his total period of stay in India.
An individual who has come to India on a visit before 22nd March 2020 and:
- Has been unable to leave India on or before 31st March 2020, his period of stay in India from 22nd March 2020 to 31st March 2020 shall not be taken into account; or
- Has been quarantined in India on account of Novel Corona Virus (Covid-19) on or after 1st March 2020 and has departed on an evacuation flight on or before 31st March 2020 or has been unable to leave India on or before 31st March 2020, his period of stay from the beginning of his quarantine to his date of departure or 31st March 2020, as the case may be, shall not be taken into account; or
- Has departed on an evacuation flight on or before 31st March 2020, his period of stay in India from 22nd March 2020 to his date of departure shall not be taken into account.
Click here to read the Notification.
