I-T filing: Aadhaar must for expats who stay for more than 6 months

Expatriates who have stayed for at least 182 days in India a year before July 1, 2017, need to apply for Aadhaar if they are filing tax returns in the country. Else, they would have to file returns by June 30 this year. 

The income tax (I-T) department clarified that foreign nationals who stayed less than 182 days need not quote the Aadhaar number in their I-T returns.

According to the Aadhaar Act, 2016, those who have stayed in India for at least 182 days (almost six months) in a year preceding the date of application for Aadhaar are considered residents.

The requirement of mandatorily quoting the Aadhaar number is effective from July 1.

This means that those who have stayed in India for more than almost six months between June 30, 2016, and July 1, 2017, need to quote their Aadhaar number. 

Thus, those who were in India for at least 182 days a year prior to July 2017 and are required to file income tax returns will need to get Aadhaar. If these expatriates have left India, they will have to come back to apply for Aadhaar as it requires biometric details, said Naveen Wadhwa of Taxmann. The other option before them is to file the returns before June 30, he said. 

These troubles arise for expatriates as Aadhaar and I-T returns classify non-residents differently. According to I-T returns, the financial year concerned is taken into account, while in Aadhaar, a year before applying for enrolment is taken into consideration.