Knowledge and frequently asked questions

An individual is resident if in India for 182 days or more in a year, or 60 days in the year plus 365 days over the preceding four years. For Indian citizens visiting India, the 60-day test becomes 182 days, or 120 days if Indian income exceeds ₹15 lakh. Anyone meeting neither test is non-resident.

Interest on an NRE account is exempt in India while the holder remains a non-resident under FEMA. Interest on an NRO account is taxable, and banks generally deduct tax at 30 per cent plus surcharge and cess. A lower treaty rate may apply if the depositor provides a Tax Residency Certificate and Form 10F.

The buyer must deduct tax on the full sale consideration, not only on the capital gain, and the ₹50 lakh threshold that applies to resident sellers does not apply. The buyer needs a TAN to deposit this tax. The seller can apply for a lower deduction certificate if the actual tax on the gain is lower.

An NRI must file a return if total Indian income exceeds the basic exemption limit, or to claim a refund of excess tax deducted. Where the only income is investment income or specified capital gains on which full tax was deducted, filing may not be required. Property sales usually need a return to settle actual tax.

Form 26AS mainly shows tax deducted or collected at source, advance tax and self-assessment tax against your PAN. The Annual Information Statement is broader and also reports interest, dividends, securities and mutual fund transactions, rent and foreign remittances. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, Form 26AS is renumbered Form 168 from tax year 2026-27.

Common reasons include AIS showing the gross sale value of shares rather than the gain, interest reported on accrual while your passbook shows credits, duplicate entries from different reporting entities, and transactions reported under the wrong PAN. You can submit feedback on each AIS entry on the income tax portal, and the reporting entity may then correct it.

The department compares returns with AIS data. Unexplained differences can lead to an intimation adjusting your income, a notice, or an e-campaign communication asking for a response. Reconciling AIS, Form 26AS and your books before filing, and recording feedback on entries that are incorrect, reduces the risk of such mismatches.

GSTR-2B is the monthly auto-generated statement of input tax credit available from suppliers' filings and the Invoice Management System. Reconciling it with your purchase register identifies missing, mismatched or unfiled supplier invoices. With input tax credit in GSTR-3B increasingly auto-populated and locked from GSTR-2B, differences need to be resolved before filing, not after.

Compare outward supplies in the books with GSTR-1, and tax liability with GSTR-3B, every month. Errors in reported outward supplies can be corrected through GSTR-1A or later returns, and short-paid tax should be paid with interest. Differences left unresolved commonly surface in the annual return, GSTR-9 and 9C, or in departmental scrutiny.

A fractional CFO is an experienced finance professional who works with a business for a defined number of days or hours rather than full time. The role usually covers cash flow planning, budgeting, management reporting, lender and investor information, internal controls and finance systems, for businesses needing senior finance input without a full-time appointment.