Time is on NRIs' side when it comes to Aadhaar

Non-resident Indians (NRIs) will not need to rush to get Aadhaar immediately though Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has announced plans to make it mandatory to file income tax (I-T) returns.‎ 

“They will get exemption from the government to maintain status quo,” said a top government official, a day after the minister made his plans public. Since companies, too, do not get an Aadhaar number, they, too, would be exempt from the new rules. ‎

While steering the Finance Bill for 2017-18 through Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Jaitley said he would insist all I-T payees furnish their Aadhaar number along with their permanent account number (PAN). “We have linked the PAN to Aadhaar. We have said either give Aadhaar or (show) an application for Aadhaar,” he told the members.

According to the Income Tax Act, all residents of India have to file an annual statement of income earned. The exemptions to this proviso for segments of I-T payers like those for income below a threshold limit are also provided for in the Act. But exempted or not, all taxpayers need to obtain a PAN, which has to be mentioned in their returns.

The proposed amendment in the Finance Bill says Aadhaar will be mandatory only for those who are ‘entitled’ to enrol under the scheme. Since NRIs and firms are not entitled to Aadhaar, they are outside the new provisions, Jaitley has outlined.

To remove the confusion, the finance ministry is expected to come out with a release soon. It will make the position clear, said the ‎official. He said the Aadhaar enrolment has been mandated by the Unique Identification Authority of India legislation and it will need to be debated and a consensus built around whether it should be extended to NRIs‎.