By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI: The Union Finance Ministry on Saturday said section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the Act) contains provisions relating to residency of a person. The status of an individual as to whether he is resident in India or a non-resident or not ordinarily resident, is dependent, inter-alia, on the period for which the person is in India during a year.Various representations have been received stating that there are number of individuals who had come on a visit to India during the previous year 2019-20 for a particular durationand intended to leave India before the end of the previous year for maintaining their status as non-resident or not ordinary resident in India.
However due to declaration of the lockdown and suspension of international flights owing to outbreak of Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19), they are required to prolong their stay in India. Concerns have been expressed that they may involuntarily end up becoming Indian residents without any intention to do so.
In order to avoid genuine hardship in such cases, the CBDT has decided vide circular no 11 dated May 8, 2020, that for the purposes of determining the residential status under section 6 of the Act during the previous year 2019-20 in respect of an individual who has come to India on a visit before 22nd March, 2020 and:has been unable to leave India on or before 31st March 2020, his period of stay in India from 22nd March, 2020 to 31st March, 2020 shall not be taken into account; orhas been quarantined in India on account of Novel Corona Virus (Covid-19) on or after 1st March, 2020 and has departed on an evacuation flight on or before 31st March, 2020 or has been unable to leave India on or before 31st March, 2020, his period of stay from the beginning of his quarantine to his date of departure or 31st March, 2020, as the case may be, shall not be taken into account; orhas departed on an evacuation flight on or before 31st March, 2020, his period of stay in India from 22nd March, 2020 to his date of departure shall not be taken into account.
Further, as the lockdown continues during the Financial Year 2020-21 and it is not yet clear as to when international flight operations would resume, a circular excluding the period of stay of these individuals up to the date of normalisation of international flight operations, for determination of the residential status for the previous year 2020-21 shall be issued after the said normalisation.
In view of the unprecedented humanitarian and economic crisis, the CBDT has decided that the implementation of new procedure for approval/ registration/notification of certain entities shall be deferred to 1st October, 2020. Accordingly, the entities approved/ registered/ notified under section 10(23C), 12AA, 35 and 80G of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the Act) would be required to file intimation within three months from 1st October, 2020, i.e, by 31st December, 2020. Further, the amended procedure for approval/ registration/ notification of new entities shall also apply from 1st October, 2020.
The necessary legislative amendments in this regard shall be proposed in due course.Various representations were received in the finance ministry expressing concerns over the implementation of the new procedure from 1st June, 2020 due to the outbreak of novel corona virus (COVID-19) and consequent lockdown. There have been a number of requests to defer the applicability of the new procedure.
It may be noted that The Finance Act, 2020 rationalized the procedure relating to approval/ registration/ notification of certain entities referred to in sections 10(23C), 12AA, 35 and 80G of the Act, with effect from 1st June, 2020. As per the new procedure, the entities already approved/ registered/ notified under these sections would be required to file intimation within three months, i.e, by 31st August, 2020. Further, the procedure for approval/ registration/ notification of new entities has also been rationalized with effect from 1st June, 2020.
