India pushes back plan to collect 20% tax on overseas spending beyond cap

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has pushed back plans to collect a 20% tax on annual overseas spending of more than 700,000 Indian rupees ($8,500) by three months to provide banks with more time to prepare their systems, according to a government statement late on Wednesday.

The move to tax overseas spending above the threshold will now be applicable from Oct. 1, 2023. Earlier it was to be implemented on July 1.

In May, the government had said it would only impose 20% tax on overseas spending of above 700,000 rupees through international debit and credit cards in a financial year.

"To give adequate time to banks and card networks to put in place requisite IT based solutions, the government has decided to postpone the implementation of its...notification," the government statement said.

Annual overseas spending of below 700,000 rupees will not be subject to taxes.

A tax collected by the government can be claimed back at the time of filing of tax returns. ($1 = 82.0020 Indian rupees)

 

(Reporting by Shivangi Acharya)