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Business News/ Money / Calculators/  Resident Indians can hold foreign currency outside India
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Resident Indians can hold foreign currency outside India

Taxability depends on residential status

Pradeep Gaur/MintPremium
Pradeep Gaur/Mint

I sold my investments in US stocks and securities while I was in India. What will be the tax implications? Can I maintain a bank account in the US on returning to India? Do I have to inform the tax authorities in India about me returning to my home country? —K. Mathur

The taxability of the income earned by you from the sale of US stocks and securities will depend on your residential status for the year in which you sold such investments. In case you are a resident of India for tax purposes, your entire income, irrespective of where it is earned, would be taxable in India. However, if you are a non-resident, only the income received or accruing or arising to you in India or deemed to be received, accrued or arising in India is taxable. Since the income would be earned by you from sale of your US stocks and securities, which are located outside India, the same should not be taxable in India.

A resident of India is permitted to maintain foreign currency outside India if such currency is acquired, held or owned when the person was a resident outside India.

As a result, you should be able to hold foreign currency outside India provided you have earned the same when you were a non-resident for exchange control purposes.

There is no need for you to intimate the income tax authorities in India of your return. However, in the event of you having any income chargeable to tax in India, you will have to file income tax return.

Is it correct that any allowance given while on a business trip abroad is taxable? If so, at what rate is it taxed? —Sundar

Any allowance paid to an employee unless specifically exempt, is chargeable to tax under the head salaries. As per section 10(14) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, any prescribed special allowance or benefit, not being a perquisite, specifically granted to meet expenses wholly, necessarily and exclusively incurred in the performance of the duties of an office or employment of profit, to the extent to which such expenses are actually incurred for that purpose is exempt.

The exempt allowances have been prescribed under Rule 2BB (1) of the Income-tax Rules, 1962. As per the rule, allowances granted to meet the cost of travel on tour, ordinary daily charges incurred by the employee or expenditure incurred in conveyance in performance of duties of an office or employment of profit is exempt.

As a result, the allowance granted to you for business trip to the extent the same is actually incurred in the performance of your duties will be exempt. The balance will be taxable at the slab rates applicable to you.

Queries and views at mintmoney@livemint.com

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Published: 06 Mar 2014, 07:17 PM IST
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