Gulf Today, Staff Reporter
Dr Anwar Bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, has praised the tax exemptions for Emirati investments in India.
Gargash took to Twitter and said, “Tax exemptions for Emirati sovereign investments in India are an important step in supporting our strategic partnership with New Delhi. All thanks and appreciation to the efforts of the UAE Embassy in India and the concerned authorities in the Emirates for this great achievement that strengthens and consolidates our common relations.”
The decision was taken in line with its ongoing efforts to create an ideal investment environment internationally.
This is part of a set of amendments and investment incentives recently announced by the Indian government to attract and encourage foreign sovereign investment in sectors of importance to India.
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In the future, other sectors may be identified for tax exemptions by the Indian government. These exemptions will come into effect on 01 April 2021, and will be limited to investments made within the period not exceeding 31 March 2024, provided that the investment is maintained for at least three years.
Apart from this, the India’s Finance Ministry has hastened to dispel the apprehensions of millions of Indian expatriates in the Gulf who may believe they are being brought under the ambit of Indian tax laws.
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reads a statement in New Delhi. File/ AFP
The Finance Bill 2020 proposes that Indian citizens will only be considered residents in India if they have no tax liability in another country or jurisdiction. The new provision does not intend to include in tax net those Indian citizens who are bonafide workers in other countries, the Finance Ministry clarified.
The clarification follows extreme disquiet among non-resident Indians (NRIs), that they stand to lose a big chunk of their income earned outside India.
The Ministry blamed alarmist reports in the media in some countries interpreting the new provision and creating an impression that those "Indians who are bonafide workers in other countries, including in Middle East, and who are not liable to tax in these countries will be taxed in India on the income that they have earned there. This interpretation is not correct."