Non-Residents Can E-File Form 10F Without PAN – Know How?

India has entered into tax treaties with multiple countries to avoid instances of double taxation of income. Non-residents can reap benefits of these tax treaties by submitting the necessary documents. Tax Residency Certificates and Form 10F play an important role in this regard. The government recently bought a major change in favour of NRI Tax in India to help ease the compliance i.e. Non-Residents Can E-File Form 10F Without PAN Card. But before that, we need to understand what is Form 10F for non-residents.

What is Form 10F for Non-Residents?

Non-residents who are availing the benefits of tax treaties are required to submit their Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) along with a self-certified Form 10F. This form allows the non-residents to avail of the relief from TDS on income generated in India. As per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, non-residents can claim benefits of tax treaties only if they furnish a valid TRC. If the TRC does not contain all the necessary information, then the non-residents are required to file Form 10F.

Challenges in Filing Form 10F for Non-Residents

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) mandated electronic filing of Form 10F by issuing a Notification dated 16^th July 2022. This created multiple challenges for the non-residents including:

• They had to register themselves on the income tax portal to file Form 10F
• PAN was mandatorily required to get registered on the income tax portal
• Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) was mandatorily required to digitally sign Form 10F.

In order to ease out the above challenges, the CBDT came up with certain relaxations. An exemption was provided whereby non-residents not having PAN and not required to obtain PAN in India can furnish self-certified Form 10F manually till 30^th September 2023.

As this exemption has expired, the income tax department released a whole new category for registration on the income tax portal – ‘non-residents not having PAN and not required to obtain PAN’. This will allow non-residents to file Form 10F without PAN.

Process to Register on the Income Tax Portal

If you fall in the above category, here’s how you can register on the income tax portal to file form 10F without PAN:

• Click on the ‘Register’ option on the income tax website.
• Select the ‘Others’ option and the category ‘Non-Residents not holding and not required to have PAN’. Then click on ‘Continue’.
• Provide all the necessary details like your category of taxpayer, full name, date of incorporation, tax identification number, country of residence etc.
• Provide your contact details including mobile number, email ID and postal address.
• Complete with the OTP verification.
• Upload the relevant documents like TRC, identification proof, address proof or any other document as may be required.

Points to Remember for Form 10F

The above facility to file Form 10F without PAN for non-residents was introduced by the CBDT to ease out the problems being faced by them. Here are some important points that you should consider:

• While registering on the income tax portal, OTPs might not be delivered to your foreign mobile number. In this case, you need to provide an Indian mobile number to get registered.
• You need to furnish the above documents mandatorily while getting registered on the income tax portal.
• Before applying for the above category of registration i.e., ‘Non-Residents not holding and not required to have PAN’, you should be assured that you are not required to obtain registration as per the income tax laws.

Following was the detailed information relating to the new facility introduced by the CBDT allowing non-resident Indian Income Tax Return without PAN. In case you need any assistance in relation to taxation and international taxation matters, feel free to contact the ASC Group.

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Sahana

Do we need DSC for filing form 10F, if having no PAN