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Economic Times
13-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
NRI Talk: Why NRIs in Dubai and Singapore pay zero tax on mutual fund gains, Nitin Aggarwal explains
In this edition of NRI Talk, Nitin Aggarwal, Director of Investment Research and Advisory at Client Associates, breaks down why NRIs residing in countries like Dubai and Singapore pay zero tax on their mutual fund gains in also shares valuable insights on why India continues to be a top investment destination for NRIs, common pitfalls to avoid, and the sectors they're most bullish on. From tax advantages under DTAA to the long-term wealth mindset of global investors, this conversation offers a deep dive into how NRIs are approaching India's growth story. Edited Excerpts - ADVERTISEMENT Q) Thanks for taking the time out. How are NRIs looking at India as a long-term investment destination? And, what are the other hot countries which they invest in?A) India is one of the most preferred markets for the long-term investments for NRIs. Several clients have increased exposure to India in recent years as there is no country other than India with strong and stable economic growth prospects. Q) There is big debate on social media about taxation. Help us understand why NRIs In Dubai, Singapore & Mauritius have to pay zero tax on mutual fund gains? A) The debate stems from a recent ruling by Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) where it ruled that under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), NRIs are not required to pay long-term taxed on mutual funds gains and these should be taxed in the residing countries. And since some of the countries, such as UAE, that India has DTAA do not charge capital gains, the NRIs in those countries will effectively pay Zero tax on gains from mutual fund investments in India. Q) What are the big mistakes which NRIs should avoid when making investment in India? ADVERTISEMENT A) We always advise to understand the risk associated with the investments. We advise using a balanced approach instead of just chasing returns.Q) What is the money mindset which NRIs follow. Are there any common attributes? ADVERTISEMENT A) Most of the NRIs that we engage with have a long-term investment horizon. They are looking to build wealth through compounding over the long-term. Q) Which investment options or asset classes are hot favourites of NRIs and why? ADVERTISEMENT A) Most of the NRIs are looking to diversify their exposure by building positions in high growth, stable economies. Q) Which sectors are more preferred when NRIs look to invest in India? A) Currently we are favouring financial services and consumption driven sectors, and that is what we are advising out clients to allocate money too. (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times) (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
NRI Talk: Why NRIs in Dubai and Singapore pay zero tax on mutual fund gains, Nitin Aggarwal explains
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel In this edition of NRI Talk, Nitin Aggarwal, Director of Investment Research and Advisory at Client Associates, breaks down why NRIs residing in countries like Dubai and Singapore pay zero tax on their mutual fund gains in also shares valuable insights on why India continues to be a top investment destination for NRIs, common pitfalls to avoid, and the sectors they're most bullish tax advantages under DTAA to the long-term wealth mindset of global investors, this conversation offers a deep dive into how NRIs are approaching India's growth story. Edited Excerpts -A) India is one of the most preferred markets for the long-term investments for NRIs. Several clients have increased exposure to India in recent years as there is no country other than India with strong and stable economic growth prospects.A) The debate stems from a recent ruling by Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) where it ruled that under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), NRIs are not required to pay long-term taxed on mutual funds gains and these should be taxed in the residing countries. And since some of the countries, such as UAE, that India has DTAA do not charge capital gains, the NRIs in those countries will effectively pay Zero tax on gains from mutual fund investments in India.A) We always advise to understand the risk associated with the investments. We advise using a balanced approach instead of just chasing returns.A) Most of the NRIs that we engage with have a long-term investment horizon. They are looking to build wealth through compounding over the long-term.A) Most of the NRIs are looking to diversify their exposure by building positions in high growth, stable economies.A) Currently we are favouring financial services and consumption driven sectors, and that is what we are advising out clients to allocate money too.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
Mint
12-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Will cross-border crypto gifts trigger Indian taxes?
I have been residing in the UAE for the past 25 years and carry on my business here. On the occasion of my 50th birthday, a couple of my Indian cousins have gifted me USTD into my private wallet here from theirs in India, after I shared my private key with them. Do I have to pay any tax in India on these gifts? - Name withheld on request Can a non-resident Indian receive cryptocurrency as a gift from cousins in India without attracting Indian tax? The answer lies in a mix of tax law interpretation and cross-border regulatory gaps. India's foreign exchange laws currently do not specifically regulate the cross-border transfer of cryptocurrencies, making it unclear whether such transfers are legally permitted. Under Indian tax law, receiving cryptocurrency as a gift or for less than its fair market value (where the difference exceeds ₹ 50,000) is treated as income under section 56(2)(x). Importantly, cousins are not classified as 'relatives' under this section, so gifts from them typically don't qualify for the exemption available for gifts received from close family members. However, this tax rule only applies if the income is received in India, accrues or arises in India, or is deemed to do so. Since you've been living in the UAE for over 25 years, you're treated as a non-resident under Indian tax laws. To assess whether income accrues in India, it's important to understand what 'accrue' or 'arise' means under tax law. Typically, 'accrue' implies a legal right to receive income—usually based on an obligation from another party. But in the case of a gift, no such obligation exists, since it's voluntary. However, section 56(2)(x) of the Income Tax Act is a deeming provision. This means it can treat the mere receipt of property—without or below fair market value—as taxable income, even if there's no underlying legal right to receive it. The term 'arise' refers to the point when income actually comes into existence. Under this section, income is considered to arise the moment the asset (in this case, cryptocurrency) is received. As you received the USDT outside India, both the arising and receipt occur outside India. Moreover, the deeming provision under section 9(1)(viii), which relates to gifts of money by a resident to a non-resident, would not apply in your case. Therefore, the receipt of USDT from your cousins will not give rise to income taxable in India. Moreover, under Article 22 of the India–UAE Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), any 'other income' (like gifts) is taxable only in the UAE. As a UAE tax resident, you wouldn't owe tax in India on this gift. Harshal Bhuta is partner at P. R. Bhuta & Co. CAs
Economic Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
DTAA Advantage: How NRIs in countries like UAE can invest tax-free in India, explains Prime Trigen Co-CEOs
The current tariff war is making it difficult to gauge the direction of the dollar. Returns of NRI's who have been investing in US Stock Markets and Real Estate markets in USA will be affected due to slowdown in US Growth due to tariffs. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads As global trade dynamics shift and India strengthens its position as a preferred manufacturing hub, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are increasingly looking to tap into the country's growth of the key advantages working in their favor is the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) that India has signed with several countries including the UAE, Singapore, and the agreement ensures that capital gains from mutual fund investments in India are not taxed twice—making India an even more attractive investment NRIs residing in zero capital gains tax jurisdictions like the UAE, this creates a powerful opportunity to grow their wealth Kapoor and Sailesh Balachandra, Co-CEOs of Prime Trigen Wealth Ltd. , break down how NRIs can leverage this unique tax edge while aligning with India's long-term growth prospects. Edited Excerpts -A) The current tariff war is making it difficult to gauge the direction of the dollar. Returns of NRI's who have been investing in US Stock Markets and Real Estate markets in USA will be affected due to slowdown in US Growth due to US Companies who have been importing goods from China would not be able to source them cheaply. This will affect the profitability of such companies which will impact their stock the other hand, NRI's investing in India will have a tough time as if Dollar weakens, then it takes a terrific hit on the returns of NRI Investors.A) Definitely. In such times, diversification is the perfect shield for any investor. NRI investors should increase their allocation towards gold and silver as we have seen many central governments also increase their exposure to gold and decrease their exposure to US Treasury Fixed income they should stick to companies which have comfortable Debt/Equity ratio's as in these times sticking to companies with sufficient liquidity is very Bonds would be less lucrative but safest in the portfolio. Also, one should consider Market Neutral Funds in their portfolio as their correlation with markets is zero.A) NRI's should have a diversification at asset class level as well as geographical level. At asset class level, they should have Debt, Commodities and Real Estate apart from Equities in their portfolio. The importance of Market Neutral Products could not be emphasized more at such Neutral Products such Agricultural REIT's, Life Settlement Funds etc are good products to have in a portfolio. For Geographical diversification, one should reduce exposure to US equities and increase India overall exposure to equities should reduce to 50%, 30% to debt, 10% to commodities and Real Estate and 10% to Market Neutral Funds as our suggestion. US-China trade tensions , and how can NRIs capitalize on this shift?A) Yes, India is definitely a beneficiary of this war as many global manufacturing companies would prefer an alternative to China amid the rising tension between US and before tariff, even during Covid times the world had realized the importance of supplier diversification due to complete lockdown in can take advantage of this situation by investing in Mutual Funds in India, tilted towards large has a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) signed with counties such as UAE, Singapore and Netherlands, to name a few, due to which capital gains on sale of MF Units will not be taxed in India and it will be taxed in their country of such as UAE does not have capital gains which means the NRI can literally pay no tax on their gains in any of the countries.A) Indian HNI's are looking for diversification outside India for many reasons. Most of them would like to build a corpus outside India for their next generation or for dual citizenship. or just as a safety pot. Most of the HNI's prefer investing outside India either through the Gift City Route or through Managers have been guiding a lot of families to invest through LRS route by investing through platforms such as apps allow the investors to invest in funds of different geographies such as Japan, Europe, USA and Other Asian economies. They also allow investors to invest in complex products such as Fixed Coupon Notes (FCN's).(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
DTAA Advantage: How NRIs in countries like UAE can invest tax-free in India, explains Prime Trigen Co-CEOs
As global trade dynamics shift and India strengthens its position as a preferred manufacturing hub, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are increasingly looking to tap into the country's growth story. One of the key advantages working in their favor is the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) that India has signed with several countries including the UAE, Singapore, and the Netherlands. This agreement ensures that capital gains from mutual fund investments in India are not taxed twice—making India an even more attractive investment destination. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. For NRIs residing in zero capital gains tax jurisdictions like the UAE, this creates a powerful opportunity to grow their wealth tax-free. Maneesh Kapoor and Sailesh Balachandra, Co-CEOs of Prime Trigen Wealth Ltd. , break down how NRIs can leverage this unique tax edge while aligning with India's long-term growth prospects. Edited Excerpts - Q) Thanks for taking the time out. How might escalating trade tensions between major economies like the US and China affect the global investment landscape for NRIs? by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo A) The current tariff war is making it difficult to gauge the direction of the dollar. Returns of NRI's who have been investing in US Stock Markets and Real Estate markets in USA will be affected due to slowdown in US Growth due to tariffs. The US Companies who have been importing goods from China would not be able to source them cheaply. This will affect the profitability of such companies which will impact their stock price. On the other hand, NRI's investing in India will have a tough time as if Dollar weakens, then it takes a terrific hit on the returns of NRI Investors. Live Events Q) In the wake of a tariff war, should NRIs consider reallocating part of their portfolio from global equities to safer fixed-income instruments or gold? A) Definitely. In such times, diversification is the perfect shield for any investor. NRI investors should increase their allocation towards gold and silver as we have seen many central governments also increase their exposure to gold and decrease their exposure to US Treasury Papers. For Fixed income they should stick to companies which have comfortable Debt/Equity ratio's as in these times sticking to companies with sufficient liquidity is very important. Sovereign Bonds would be less lucrative but safest in the portfolio. Also, one should consider Market Neutral Funds in their portfolio as their correlation with markets is zero. Q) What kind of geographical diversification strategies should NRIs adopt to hedge against the volatility caused by trade wars? A) NRI's should have a diversification at asset class level as well as geographical level. At asset class level, they should have Debt, Commodities and Real Estate apart from Equities in their portfolio. The importance of Market Neutral Products could not be emphasized more at such times. Market Neutral Products such Agricultural REIT's, Life Settlement Funds etc are good products to have in a portfolio. For Geographical diversification, one should reduce exposure to US equities and increase India exposure. The overall exposure to equities should reduce to 50%, 30% to debt, 10% to commodities and Real Estate and 10% to Market Neutral Funds as our suggestion. Q) Could India benefit as a manufacturing alternative amid US-China trade tensions , and how can NRIs capitalize on this shift? A) Yes, India is definitely a beneficiary of this war as many global manufacturing companies would prefer an alternative to China amid the rising tension between US and China. Also, before tariff, even during Covid times the world had realized the importance of supplier diversification due to complete lockdown in China. NRI's can take advantage of this situation by investing in Mutual Funds in India, tilted towards large cap. India has a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) signed with counties such as UAE, Singapore and Netherlands, to name a few, due to which capital gains on sale of MF Units will not be taxed in India and it will be taxed in their country of residence. Countries such as UAE does not have capital gains which means the NRI can literally pay no tax on their gains in any of the countries. Q) What role do international investment opportunities play in the portfolios of Indian HNIs, and how are wealth managers facilitating access to these markets? A) Indian HNI's are looking for diversification outside India for many reasons. Most of them would like to build a corpus outside India for their next generation or for dual citizenship. or just as a safety pot. Most of the HNI's prefer investing outside India either through the Gift City Route or through LRS. Wealth Managers have been guiding a lot of families to invest through LRS route by investing through platforms such as Kristal. These apps allow the investors to invest in funds of different geographies such as Japan, Europe, USA and Other Asian economies. They also allow investors to invest in complex products such as Fixed Coupon Notes (FCN's).
