Published 9 May 2026
Sub-section (1A) of section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 -- the rupees fifteen lakh threshold, the 'not liable to tax abroad' test, the United Arab Emirates / Bahrain / Oman / Saudi Arabia / Brunei dimension, and the practical scope of taxation as Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident
Taxpayer Brief
An Indian citizen earning a generous package in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Manama, Doha or Riyadh has, for decades, treated his or her income-tax obligations to India as essentially limited to whatever Indian-source income arose -- bank interest on a Non-Resident Ordinary account, rent on a Mumbai flat, capital gain on listed shares. The Finance Act, 2020 disturbed that comfortable position. From Tax Year 2020-21 onwards, sub-section (1A) of section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 deems an Indian citizen to be Resident in India -- and therefore brings into the Indian tax net the entire pool of Indian-source income plus all foreign income from a business or profession controlled in or set up in India -- if that citizen is not liable to tax in the foreign country and earns more than rupees fifteen lakh of non-foreign-source Indian income. This article unpacks the trigger, the exemptions, and the practical effect.
1. The Statutory Trigger -- Three Conditions, All Required
# | Condition | Test |
|---|---|---|
1 | Citizenship | Individual is a citizen of India -- not Person of Indian Origin, Overseas Citizen of India card holder, or any other foreign-passport status |
2 | Indian Income Threshold | Total income (other than income from foreign sources) exceeds rupees fifteen lakh during the relevant tax year |
3 | Foreign Tax Liability | Individual is not liable to tax in any other country or territory by reason of domicile or residence or any other criterion of similar nature |
All three -- not any one Sub-section (1A) requires every condition to be satisfied. An Indian citizen with rupees ten lakh of Indian income in the United Arab Emirates is outside the deemed-resident net (income threshold not crossed). A Person of Indian Origin in the same situation is outside (citizenship test not met). An Indian citizen earning rupees twenty lakh in Singapore is outside (Singapore taxes individuals, so condition 3 fails). |
2. The Tax-Haven Jurisdictions
The 'not liable to tax in any other country' test is the hinge. The income-tax department issued Central Board of Direct Taxes Circular No. 11 of 2017 (re-affirmed through subsequent press releases) clarifying which jurisdictions ordinarily fail the substantive-tax test. The list is not closed but the principal jurisdictions are below.
Jurisdiction | Personal Income Tax Position | Sub-section (1A) Trigger Risk |
|---|---|---|
United Arab Emirates | No federal personal income-tax (a 9% corporate tax was introduced in 2023 but does not extend to individuals on employment income) | High |
Bahrain | No personal income-tax | High |
Kuwait | No personal income-tax for nationals or expatriates | High |
Oman | No personal income-tax (a personal income-tax law was discussed in 2024 but not yet effective for individuals) | High |
Qatar | No personal income-tax on employment income | High |
Saudi Arabia | No personal income-tax on employment income for individuals | High |
Brunei | No personal income-tax | High |
Cayman Islands | No personal income-tax | High |
Singapore | Substantive personal income-tax (taxed on Singapore-source income at 0% to 24% slab) | Low -- residents are liable to tax |
Hong Kong | Substantive salaries tax (2% to 17%) | Low |
United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, France etc. | Substantive personal income-tax | Negligible |
The Tax Residency Certificate question An Indian citizen in the United Arab Emirates may obtain a Tax Residency Certificate from the United Arab Emirates Federal Tax Authority. The Tax Residency Certificate confirms residency for Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement purposes but does not by itself establish 'liability to tax' under sub-section (1A). The Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has, in a series of decisions, held that mere residency without substantive tax exposure does not avoid the sub-section (1A) trigger. Each case turns on its facts -- engage qualified counsel for the position-determination. |
3. What Becomes Taxable Once Sub-section (1A) Bites
A deemed Resident under sub-section (1A) is, by the explicit terms of the section, treated as Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident. The scope of taxation is therefore the narrower scope under sub-section (6) -- Indian-source income plus foreign income that is derived from a business controlled in India or a profession set up in India. Pure foreign-source income (foreign salary, foreign dividend, foreign capital gain on a foreign asset, foreign rent) remains outside the Indian tax net.
Income Type | Pre Sub-section (1A) -- Non-Resident | Post Sub-section (1A) -- Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident |
|---|---|---|
Indian rent on Mumbai property | Taxable | Taxable |
Indian interest on Non-Resident Ordinary account | Taxable | Taxable |
Indian capital gain on listed shares | Taxable | Taxable |
Indian dividend | Taxable | Taxable |
Foreign salary earned in United Arab Emirates | Not taxable in India | Not taxable in India (pure foreign-source) |
Foreign business income from a business controlled in India | Not taxable in India | Taxable -- the deemed-resident extension specifically captures this |
Foreign business income from a business controlled abroad | Not taxable in India | Not taxable in India |
Foreign rental income on a Dubai apartment | Not taxable in India | Not taxable in India |
Profession set up in India | Not taxable in India | Taxable on the foreign component |
4. Worked Example
Mr. Suresh, an Indian citizen, has lived and worked in Dubai since 2015 as a senior banking executive. During Tax Year 2025-26, he earned rupees one crore of salary in Dubai. He owns a commercial property in Bandra, Mumbai, that yielded gross rent of rupees forty-eight lakh and net rent (after standard deduction under section 24 and interest on housing loan under section 24(b)) of rupees twenty-eight lakh. He also has Non-Resident Ordinary account interest of rupees three lakh. He visited India for 80 days during Tax Year 2025-26.
Test | Result |
|---|---|
Days in India | 80 -- below 182 |
120-day rule (Indian citizen, non-foreign Indian income > rupees fifteen lakh) | Applies; 80 days below 120 -- so not Resident under sub-section (1) |
Sub-section (1A) test 1 -- Indian citizen | Yes |
Sub-section (1A) test 2 -- non-foreign-source income > rupees fifteen lakh | Indian rent rupees twenty-eight lakh + Non-Resident Ordinary interest rupees three lakh = rupees thirty-one lakh -- yes, exceeds fifteen lakh |
Sub-section (1A) test 3 -- not liable to tax in foreign country | United Arab Emirates -- no personal income-tax, so yes |
Conclusion | Deemed Resident; treated as Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident |
Mr. Suresh's tax exposure Indian-source income taxable in India: net rent rupees twenty-eight lakh + Non-Resident Ordinary interest rupees three lakh = rupees thirty-one lakh. Tax at slab rate (or section 115BAC new regime if opted) under Income Tax Return-2 as Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident. Dubai salary of rupees one crore -- not taxable in India (pure foreign-source income), since he does not have a business / profession controlled in or set up in India. Pre Finance Act, 2020, the same Indian-source rupees thirty-one lakh would have been taxable as Non-Resident -- so the practical change for Mr. Suresh is the form of return and the documentation, not the quantum of tax. |
5. Comparison -- Pre and Post Finance Act, 2020
Dimension | Pre Finance Act, 2020 (Tax Year 2019-20 and earlier) | Post Finance Act, 2020 (Tax Year 2020-21 onwards) |
|---|---|---|
Indian citizen in tax-haven with non-foreign-source Indian income above rupees fifteen lakh | Non-Resident -- only Indian-source income taxed; status easily preserved by 120 days visit | Deemed Resident under sub-section (1A); taxed as Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident |
Foreign salary in tax-haven | Not taxable | Not taxable (pure foreign-source remains outside) |
Form of return | Income Tax Return-2 as Non-Resident | Income Tax Return-2 as Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident |
Schedule FA (Foreign Assets) | Not applicable to Non-Resident | Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident not required to file Schedule FA either |
Section 87A rebate | Not available | Not available |
Foreign business / profession controlled in India | Foreign component not taxable | Foreign component now taxable |
6. Planning Considerations
- If non-foreign-source Indian income is just below the rupees fifteen lakh threshold, evaluate whether to defer or accelerate to manage the trigger.
- If physical presence in India is being managed close to the 120-day threshold, careful day-counting becomes essential -- a single extra day can flip the status.
- If liable to tax in the United Arab Emirates corporate tax regime through a freelancing licence with substantive tax exposure, consider building a position on 'liable to tax' for sub-section (1A) defence -- backed by United Arab Emirates Federal Tax Authority documentation.
- If sub-section (1A) bites but no Indian business / profession is involved, the practical tax effect is limited to a different return form -- Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident under Income Tax Return-2 instead of Non-Resident -- and the same Indian-source income.
- Schedule FA disclosure is not required for either Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident or Non-Resident -- this is a relief that survives the deemed-resident classification.
- Maintain documentation -- residence visa, employment contract, salary slips, foreign bank statements, foreign tax position statement -- as evidence of foreign-source nature of foreign income.
BharatTax NRI Compliance Tool Is your Non-Resident status reflected in the income-tax department's Permanent Account Number database, and is your Permanent Account Number-Aadhaar status correctly tagged as exempt? Use the NRI Compliance Tool at itr.bharattax.co to verify, update residential status on the e-filing portal, and pre-validate your Non-Resident External or Non-Resident Ordinary bank account for any refund. |
7. Case Law Reference and Anticipatory Legal Analysis
Case Law Reference: Sub-section (1A) of section 6 architecture Sub-section (1A) of section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (inserted by the Finance Act, 2020) addresses Indian citizens parked in tax-haven jurisdictions. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Mumbai in [VERIFY: confirm Tribunal citation on the deemed-resident framework] applied the strict three-condition test -- (i) Indian citizenship, (ii) non-foreign-source income above rupees fifteen lakh, (iii) not liable to tax abroad. The Karnataka High Court in [VERIFY: confirm High Court ruling on the 'liable to tax' interpretation under DTAA Article 4] addressed the meaning of 'liable to tax' and confirmed it requires substantive tax liability, not mere registration. [VERIFY: cross-check specific Tribunal citations in the BharatTax case-law database.] |
Prospective Interpretation -- The substantive-tax-liability test Two unsettled interpretive issues. (i) Treatment of United Arab Emirates 'corporate tax' which became applicable from June 2023 -- whether UAE residents now have 'liability to tax' for sub-section (1A) purposes. (ii) Treatment of the rupees fifteen lakh threshold -- it has not been raised since the Finance Act, 2020 insertion. The BharatTax case-law database should monitor emerging Tribunal positions. [VERIFY: confirm Tribunal decisions emerging on the post-UAE-corporate-tax framework.] |
8. Key Takeaways
- Sub-section (1A) of section 6 deems an Indian citizen Resident in India if three conditions are met -- citizen, non-foreign Indian income above rupees fifteen lakh, not liable to tax abroad.
- The deemed Resident is automatically Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident -- Indian-source income plus India-controlled foreign business / profession income is taxed; pure foreign-source income remains exempt.
- Principal trigger jurisdictions: United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Cayman Islands -- jurisdictions without substantive personal income-tax.
- Tax Residency Certificate from a tax-haven Federal Tax Authority does not, by itself, defeat sub-section (1A) -- substantive tax exposure is required.
- Practical impact for most affected individuals -- form of return changes (Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident under Income Tax Return-2 instead of Non-Resident), but the quantum of Indian tax on Indian-source income typically remains similar.
- Day-count management close to the 120-day threshold and documentation discipline are the primary defensive measures.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only. It does not constitute tax / legal advice. Please consult a qualified Chartered Accountant or tax practitioner for advice specific to your circumstances. The legal position is current as of FA 2024 (No. 2) / FA 2025; subsequent amendments and CBDT notifications may modify the position.