Non-residents need not quote Aadhaar number in their income tax returns and for applying to permanent account numbers (PAN), the Income Tax Department clarified on Wednesday. This, however, may increase trouble for some of the assessees who have left the country.
In terms of Aadhaar Act, 2016, those who have stayed in India for more than 182 days (almost six months) in a year preceding to application for Aadhaar are considered non-residents.
The requirement of mandatorily quoting Aadhaar number is effective from July 1 this year.
This means that only those who have stayed in India for more than almost six months from June 30, 2016 to July 1, 2017 need to quote their Aadhaar number.
That means that those who are in this territory and are required to file income tax returns but have left India will need to file returns for the assessment year 2017-18. Or else they will have to come back to file for Aadhar as it requires biometric detials, says Naveen Wadhwa of Taxmann. The other option before them is to file the returns before June 30, he says.
