Author: CA Kirti Goyal

Australia is home to one of the fastest-growing Indian diaspora communities in the world — the Ministry of External Affairs projects the Indian-origin population there will reach nearly 1 million by 2026. Many Australia-resident NRIs own property in India, hold NRO accounts, or receive rental income from Indian assets. If you are remitting money from India to your Australian bank account, your Indian bank will require Form 145 and Form 146 (which replaced Form 15CA and Form 15CB from April 2026). This guide explains everything Australia-based NRIs need to know.

India-Australia DTAA — Key Points for Australia NRIs

India and Australia have a comprehensive Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement in force, covering dividends, interest, and royalty income (Articles 10, 11 and 12) with a tax credit mechanism set out in Article 24. Like the India-UK and India-US treaties, it works through a foreign tax credit: Australian tax residents pay Indian tax on Indian-source income and then claim an offset in their Australian tax return for the Indian tax already paid. Gains from selling immovable property situated in India are taxable in India. NRO account interest and rental income from Indian property also remain taxable in India, with credit available in Australia for the tax paid.

To claim DTAA benefits, Australian residents must obtain a Certificate of Residency from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and file Form 10F electronically on the Indian Income Tax portal.

What Changed for Australia NRIs in April 2026

From 1 April 2026, Form 15CA and Form 15CB no longer exist. They have been replaced by Form 145 (the online declaration, replacing Form 15CA) and Form 146 (the CA certificate, replacing Form 15CB) under the Income Tax Act 2025. If your bank’s NRI desk is still asking for Form 15CB after April 2026, show them the Form 146 certificate — it is the legally valid replacement document.

When Do Australia NRIs Need Form 145 and Form 146?

Selling Indian property and remitting sale proceeds to an Australian bank account
Remitting from an NRO account to an Australian bank
Sending NRO fixed deposit proceeds to Australia
Repatriating rental income earned from Indian property
Any other Indian-source income being transferred abroad

Lower TDS Certificate for Australia NRIs Selling Indian Property

Australia NRIs selling Indian property face the same TDS-on-full-sale-value problem as all NRIs — the buyer must deduct TDS on the entire sale consideration, not just the gain. A Lower TDS Certificate (Form 128) fixes this by getting the Assessing Officer to specify a TDS rate matching your actual liability, typically saving lakhs that would otherwise sit with the Income Tax Department for 12-18 months. Having a clean capital gains computation from the Form 128 process also gives you proper documentation for your Australian Foreign Income Tax Offset claim. Starting ₹7,999.

The 50% CGT Discount and FITO — What Makes Australia Different

Australia’s tax treatment of Indian property gains has two features that don’t apply to UK or US NRIs, and both cut in different directions:

The 50% CGT discount works in your favour. If you have held the Indian property for more than 12 months, only 50% of the capital gain is included in your assessable income in Australia — a significant reduction compared to how the US or UK tax the same gain.

The Foreign Income Tax Offset (FITO) does not carry forward. Unlike the US, where unused foreign tax credit can be carried forward up to 10 years, any Indian tax credit that exceeds your Australian tax liability on that income in the same year is simply lost — it cannot be carried forward or claimed later. This makes the timing and accuracy of your Indian TDS and capital gains computation more important for Australia NRIs than for NRIs in most other countries: overpaying TDS in India (and not fixing it with a Lower TDS Certificate) can mean paying tax twice with no way to recover the difference through your Australian return.

ATO Certificate of Residency — How to Obtain It

Apply for a Certificate of Residency through the ATO using the individual request form (NAT 75441), available on ato.gov.au. This certifies that you are an Australian tax resident liable to pay tax on worldwide income in Australia, which Indian authorities require to grant DTAA benefits. If you have dual tax residency questions, the ATO recommends lodging an early engagement advice request first to resolve your residency status before requesting the certificate. Apply well ahead of your remittance date, and note that under the Common Reporting Standard, the ATO already receives annual data on Australian residents’ Indian financial accounts — so it is simpler to file correctly than to explain a mismatch later.

Our Service for Australia NRI Clients

We handle Form 145, Form 146, Lower TDS Certificate (Form 128), NRI ITR filing, and Foreign Tax Credit (Form 44) for Australia-based NRI clients. Our founding CA holds a CPA Australia qualification alongside FCA (ICAI) — a combination that means your Form 146 certificate and your Australian FITO claim are prepared with a working understanding of both tax systems, not just the Indian side. Everything is done over email — no office visit required.

Email us at hello@nritaxca.com with your situation. We respond within 2 hours with a written fixed quote. Fixed pricing, no hidden charges.

Also Read:
Case Study: How an NRI in Melbourne Saved ₹13.8 Lakhs on Property TDS
Form 145 146 Complete NRI Guide
Form 145 146 for NRIs in UK
Form 145 146 for UAE Gulf NRIs
Form 145 146 for NRIs in USA and Canada

Seafarer taxation is one of the most misunderstood areas of NRI tax, and a lot of what’s written about it online is outdated — written before the Income Tax Act, 2025 and before some of the day-counting rules were reorganised. Here’s what actually applies right now, with the specific carve-out most guides skip.

Seafarer Isn’t a Defined Tax Term — Your Residential Status Is What Matters

Neither the old Income Tax Act, 1961 nor the Income Tax Act, 2025 defines “seafarer” or “merchant navy” as a legal category. There is no special exemption schedule for seafarers as a class. What determines your tax liability is purely your residential status for the year — resident, RNOR, or non-resident — computed the same way it is for any Indian citizen, but with one crew-specific day-counting mechanism that changes the arithmetic significantly in your favour.

The CDC Day-Count Rule — Why Days at Sea Don’t Count as Days in India

Under the new Act (Section 6(6), with the computation method in Rule 8 of the Income Tax Rules, 2026 — replacing the old Rule 126), if you’re an Indian citizen crewing a foreign-bound ship on an “eligible voyage” (one where either the origin or destination port is in India), the entire period between your Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC) joining date and sign-off date is excluded from your “period of stay in India” — even if the ship passes through Indian territorial or coastal waters during that voyage. This is the single most valuable rule in seafarer taxation and the one most likely to be miscounted if you go by passport stamps alone instead of your CDC.

Does the 120-Day “Deemed Resident” Rule Apply to You? No.

A lot of seafarer tax content online still flags the 120-day rule (where an Indian citizen with India income above ₹15 lakh becomes a “deemed resident” by spending just 120+ days in India, instead of the usual 182) as something to watch for. It doesn’t apply to seafarers. This is an explicit statutory carve-out — seafarers continue to use the standard 182-day threshold regardless of income level. If a guide you’re reading presents the 120-day rule as a live risk for you without mentioning this exclusion, that guide is incomplete.

Is Your NRE Salary Actually Tax-Free?

Yes, with the right documentation. Per CBDT Circular No. 13/2017, salary paid to a non-resident seafarer for services rendered outside India on a foreign ship is not taxable in India merely because it was credited to an NRE account held with an Indian bank. The exemption follows from your non-resident status and where the service was rendered — the NRE account is just where the money lands, not what makes it exempt. Keep your CDC, employment contract, and salary certificate together; this is exactly the documentation set that gets checked if your return is ever queried.

Which ITR Form, and What We Charge

Seafarers with exempt foreign salary plus any India-source income (NRO interest, rent, capital gains) file ITR-2, disclosing the exempt salary and, where applicable, Schedule FA for foreign assets. If you have business income from a proprietary source, ITR-3 applies instead. Our fee for ITR-2 filing starts at ₹3,499, reviewed personally by a Fellow Chartered Accountant — no hidden charges, no quote-on-request. If your residential status is borderline for the year (a short voyage, a delayed sign-off, time split across foreign and domestic-flag ships), we’ll work through your CDC dates with you before filing, not after.

Send your CDC and voyage dates to hello@nritaxca.com or via WhatsApp and we’ll tell you plainly where your residential status stands before you file anything.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. Seafarer residency determinations depend on exact CDC dates and voyage classification — consult a qualified CA before filing.

If you’re an NRI who has just received an income tax notice from India, the first thing to know is that the section numbers have changed. Notices issued on or after 1 April 2026 no longer cite Section 148 or 148A — they cite Section 280 and 281 under the Income Tax Act, 2025. If your notice still says “148A,” it was issued before that date and the old procedure applies to it. Getting this distinction right matters because your response should be drafted using the correct framework.

Section 280 and 281 — What Replaced Section 148 and 148A

Under the old Income Tax Act, 1961, a reassessment notice under Section 148 could only be issued after the Assessing Officer followed a mandatory pre-notice procedure under Section 148A — a show-cause notice explaining why the department believes income escaped assessment, followed by your chance to respond before any formal notice is issued. Under the Income Tax Act, 2025, this exact procedure continues, just renumbered: Section 281 is the pre-notice inquiry (erstwhile 148A), and Section 280 is the formal reassessment notice itself (erstwhile 148). The safeguards are unchanged — only the citations are different.

If you already have a notice in hand dated before 1 April 2026, do not switch terminology — your reply should still reference Section 148/148A, since that notice was issued and is being processed under the old Act. Mixing old and new section numbers in a single reply is a common, avoidable mistake that signals to the tax officer that whoever drafted it hasn’t tracked the transition.

Why NRIs Get These Notices More Often Than You’d Expect

NRIs are disproportionately likely to trigger a reassessment flag, usually for reasons that have nothing to do with intentional non-disclosure: a property sale where the buyer’s TDS filing (Form 144) doesn’t match what you reported in your ITR; a large NRO-to-NRE or NRO-to-foreign remittance that shows up in AIS/TIS without a corresponding income entry; interest income on NRO fixed deposits that the bank reported but you didn’t include; or simply not filing an ITR at all in a year where TDS was deducted, on the assumption that TDS already “covered” the liability.

The Timeline You’re Working Against

A reassessment notice can normally be issued within 3 years and 3 months from the end of the relevant assessment year, extended to 5 years and 3 months where the escaped income is ₹50 lakh or more. Once you receive the Section 281 (erstwhile 148A) show-cause notice, you typically get between 7 and 30 days to respond — this is not a deadline to negotiate casually. A weak or late response makes it far more likely the Assessing Officer proceeds straight to the formal Section 280 notice and a full reassessment.

What Not to Do When You Get a Notice

Do not ignore it on the assumption that being abroad puts you out of reach — unresolved reassessments can freeze refunds, block future remittance approvals, and complicate property transactions in India. Do not respond yourself without reviewing your AIS/TIS and Form 26AS first — many notices are triggered by a data mismatch that has a simple factual explanation, but only if you can actually show the reconciliation. And do not file a fresh Updated Return (Section 139(8A) equivalent) reflexively before understanding whether that’s even the right response — Budget 2025 restricts this option once a Section 281/148A notice has already been issued beyond a certain window.

How NRI Tax CA Handles Notice Responses

We review your AIS, TIS, Form 26AS, and the specific transaction the notice references, identify whether it’s a genuine mismatch or a real disclosure gap, and draft a reasoned reply citing the correct section — 280/281 or the old 148/148A, depending on when your notice was issued. If the matter needs a formal objection or appeal, we prepare that too. Every case is reviewed personally by a Fellow Chartered Accountant, in writing, over WhatsApp or email — send us a copy of your notice at hello@nritaxca.com or via WhatsApp and we’ll tell you plainly what it means before you decide anything.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Reassessment procedures involve strict timelines — consult a qualified CA before responding to any notice.

Before any question about ITR filing, TDS, or DTAA even applies to you, one thing decides everything: your residential status under Indian tax law. This has nothing to do with your visa, citizenship, or passport — it is purely a count of days spent in India, and it can change from year to year.

The Three Categories

Under Section 6 of the Income Tax Act 2025, every individual falls into exactly one of three categories each tax year:

• Resident and Ordinarily Resident (ROR) — taxed on worldwide income, both Indian and foreign.
• Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident (RNOR) — taxed only on income earned or received in India.
• Non-Resident (NR / NRI) — taxed only on income earned or received in India.

RNOR and NRI status have the same practical tax treatment for most people — foreign salary, foreign investments, and overseas bank interest stay outside Indian tax either way. The difference mainly affects certain RNOR-specific exemptions and how long that transition status lasts.

Step 1 — Are You a Resident At All?

You are a Resident of India in a tax year if either of these applies:

• You were in India for 182 days or more during the tax year, OR
• You were in India for 60 days or more during the tax year and 365 days or more across the 4 tax years immediately before it.

If neither condition is met, you are a Non-Resident (NRI) for that year — no further tests apply.

The Exception Most NRIs Actually Rely On

If you are an Indian citizen (or person of Indian origin) who leaves India for employment abroad, or as a crew member on an Indian ship, the 60-day condition above does not apply to you. Only the 182-day test matters. This is the exception most working NRIs use to stay Non-Resident despite visiting India for a few weeks each year.

Note: the Income Tax Act 2025 narrowed how “leaving for employment” is interpreted compared to the earlier law. If your situation isn’t a straightforward foreign job offer — for example you’re self-employed abroad, on a business visa, or your employment status is ambiguous — don’t assume this exception applies to you without checking.

The ₹15 Lakh Rule — 120 Days, Not 60

If your total income from Indian sources (excluding foreign income) exceeds ₹15 lakh in the tax year, the 60-day threshold above is replaced with 120 days. So if you earn more than ₹15 lakh from India — rent, capital gains, dividends, professional fees — and spent 120 days or more in India (plus 365+ days in the preceding 4 years), you become a Resident even though you’d otherwise qualify as NRI.

The Deemed Resident Trap

A separate rule catches people who try to avoid tax residency everywhere. If you are an Indian citizen with more than ₹15 lakh of Indian income and you are not liable to pay tax in any other country — common for NRIs based in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, and other zero-income-tax jurisdictions — you are automatically treated as a Deemed Resident of India, regardless of how many days you spent here. Deemed residents are automatically classified as RNOR rather than full ROR, so worldwide income still isn’t taxed — but you do lose full NRI status and its associated exemptions.

Step 2 — If You’re a Resident, Are You RNOR or ROR?

If you meet the resident test above, you are RNOR (not full ROR) if either applies:

• You were a Non-Resident in 9 of the preceding 10 tax years, OR
• You were physically present in India for 729 days or less during the preceding 7 tax years.

This matters most for NRIs moving back to India permanently — RNOR status typically gives a window of a few years where foreign income and assets built up while abroad stay outside Indian tax, before you transition to full ROR.

Why This Actually Matters

Your residential status decides:

• Whether your foreign salary, foreign investments, and overseas bank interest are taxable in India at all
• Which ITR form you file and what schedules apply — Schedule FA for foreign assets applies only to residents
• Whether DTAA relief provisions are even relevant to your filing
• Your TDS treatment on Indian income — banks, tenants, and property buyers apply different rates based on your status on record

Getting this wrong in either direction is costly. Under-claiming NRI status means paying Indian tax on income that shouldn’t be taxed here. Over-claiming it after you’ve actually crossed a residency threshold can mean penalties and interest on undeclared worldwide income.

Common Questions

I have an OCI/PIO card — does that make me NRI automatically?
No. Residential status has nothing to do with citizenship, visa, or OCI/PIO status. It is based purely on physical days present in India each tax year.

I travelled back to India for 4 months this year for a family emergency — am I still NRI?
Possibly not, depending on your total days and your preceding-4-year history. Add up your exact days in India for the tax year before assuming your status hasn’t changed.

Does my status reset every year?
Yes. Residential status is determined fresh for each tax year based on that year’s day count and the preceding years’ history — it is not a one-time determination.

Need Help?

Residential status is the single most consequential — and most miscounted — determination in NRI tax filing. If you’re unsure which category you fall into this year, we can review your travel history and income sources and tell you exactly where you stand before you file.

Email us at hello@nritaxca.com or message us on WhatsApp.

Related NRI Compliance Guides

• TDS on Rent Paid to NRI Landlord — Complete Guide
• Form 145 & 146 for NRIs — Replaces 15CA/15CB
• NRI Income Tax Calculator
• NRI ITR-2 Filing Guide 2026

Were you resident in a year you held unreported foreign assets? You may be able to use the one-time FAST-DS 2026 disclosure scheme before 31 December 2026. Read our FAST-DS 2026 guide.

The United Kingdom has one of the largest Indian diaspora populations in the world — over 1.8 million people of Indian origin. Many UK-resident NRIs own property in India, hold NRO accounts, or receive rental income from Indian assets. If you are remitting money from India to your UK bank account, your Indian bank will require Form 145 and Form 146 (which replaced Form 15CA and Form 15CB from April 2026). This guide explains everything UK NRIs need to know.

India-UK DTAA — Key Points for UK NRIs

India and the UK have a comprehensive DTAA in force. Like the India-US treaty, it operates through a foreign tax credit mechanism — UK residents pay Indian tax on Indian income and claim credit in their UK self-assessment return. Key provisions include: capital gains on Indian immovable property are taxable in India; NRO interest income is taxable at a reduced rate under the DTAA; rental income from Indian property is taxable in India; all Indian taxes paid are creditable against UK income tax on the same income via HMRC’s foreign tax credit relief (FTCR).

To claim India-UK DTAA benefits, UK residents must obtain a Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) from HMRC and file Form 10F electronically on the Indian Income Tax portal. The HMRC Certificate of Residence can be applied for via the HMRC online portal under “Get a certificate of residence”.

What Changed for UK NRIs in April 2026

From 1 April 2026, Form 15CA and Form 15CB no longer exist. They have been replaced by Form 145 (the online declaration, replacing Form 15CA) and Form 146 (the CA certificate, replacing Form 15CB) under the Income Tax Act 2025. If your HDFC NRI branch, ICICI Bank UK, or any other bank is asking for Form 15CB after April 2026, show them the Form 146 certificate — it is the legally valid replacement document.

When Do UK NRIs Need Form 145 and Form 146?

• Selling Indian property and remitting sale proceeds to a UK bank account
• Remitting from an NRO account to a UK bank
• Sending NRO fixed deposit proceeds to the UK
• Repatriating rental income earned from Indian property
• Any other Indian-source income being transferred abroad

Lower TDS Certificate for UK NRIs Selling Indian Property

UK NRIs selling Indian property face the same 20%+ TDS problem as all NRIs. A Lower TDS Certificate (Form 128) reduces TDS to the actual capital gain liability — typically saving ₹10–20 lakhs. Additionally, having a proper capital gains computation from the Form 128 process gives you clean documentation for your HMRC foreign tax credit claim. Starting ₹7,999.

HMRC TRC — How to Obtain It

Apply for a Certificate of Residence from HMRC at hmrc.gov.uk. You will need to specify the tax year, the country (India), and the relevant treaty provision. HMRC typically processes TRC applications within 15–30 working days. Apply well in advance of your remittance date. The TRC must cover the financial year in which the remittance is being made.

Our Service for UK NRI Clients

We handle Form 145, Form 146, Lower TDS Certificate (Form 128), NRI ITR filing, and Foreign Tax Credit (Form 44) for UK NRIs. Everything is done over email — no office visit required. We apply the India-UK DTAA provisions correctly in every Form 146 certificate, ensuring your UK foreign tax credit claim is well-documented.

Email us at hello@nritaxca.com with your situation. We respond within 2 hours with a written fixed quote. Fixed pricing, no hidden charges.

NRIs in the United States and Canada face a unique tax challenge: both the US and Canada have worldwide income taxation — meaning your Indian income may be taxable in both India and your country of residence. The India-US DTAA and India-Canada DTAA provide relief through foreign tax credits, but the process requires careful compliance on the Indian side, starting with Form 145 and Form 146. This guide explains what NRIs in the US and Canada need to know for 2026.

India-USA DTAA — Key Points for NRIs

India and the USA have a DTAA in force since 1990. Unlike the UAE DTAA, the India-US DTAA does not eliminate Indian tax — it prevents double taxation through the foreign tax credit mechanism. Income taxed in India (property sale gains, NRO interest, rental income) is eligible for a US foreign tax credit on your US federal return (Form 1040, Schedule A or Form 1116). Proper Indian compliance — including correctly issued Form 146 certificates with DTAA article references — ensures the IRS accepts your foreign tax credit without dispute.

Key provisions: Indian-source capital gains from immovable property are taxable in India; NRO interest is taxable in India at a maximum 15% rate under Article 11 of the India-US DTAA (reduced from the standard 30%); rental income is taxable in India. All Indian taxes paid are creditable against US tax on the same income.

India-Canada DTAA — Key Points for NRIs

The India-Canada DTAA has been in force since 1996. Similar to the India-US treaty, it operates through a foreign tax credit mechanism. Capital gains on Indian property are taxable in India. NRO interest is taxable at a maximum 15% rate under Article 11. Rental income is taxable in India. Canadian residents claim a foreign tax credit on their T1 general return using Form T2209. Our Form 146 certificates include the relevant DTAA article references required for CRA compliance.

How Form 145 and Form 146 Work for US/Canada NRIs

The process is identical regardless of your country of residence — what changes is the DTAA treaty applied and the TRC you need to obtain. For US residents, the TRC is IRS Form 6166 (Certificate of US Tax Residency), obtained by filing Form 8802 with the IRS. For Canadian residents, the TRC is a letter from the CRA confirming Canadian tax residency, or CRA Form NR301. Both must be obtained before we can apply DTAA benefits in your Form 146 certificate.

Lower TDS Certificate for US/Canada NRIs Selling Indian Property

US and Canada NRIs selling Indian property face the same 20%+ TDS issue as all other NRIs. On a ₹1.5 crore property, that is ₹30+ lakhs deducted at registration. A Lower TDS Certificate (Form 128) reduces this to TDS on the actual capital gain — saving ₹15–25 lakhs in most cases. Additionally, the properly documented capital gains computation in the Form 128 application helps ensure the correct Indian tax figure is available for your US/Canada foreign tax credit claim. Starting ₹7,999.

Documents Required for US/Canada NRIs

• PAN card and passport
• IRS Form 6166 (US TRC) or CRA residency confirmation letter (Canada TRC)
• Form 10F filed electronically on the Indian IT portal
• NRO bank account details
• Property documents (for Form 128 / Lower TDS Certificate)

Our Service

We handle Form 145, Form 146, Lower TDS Certificate, NRI ITR filing, and Foreign Tax Credit (Form 44) for NRIs across the USA and Canada. Our team is experienced with both the India-US and India-Canada DTAA provisions. Everything is done over email — no office visits required anywhere.

Email us at hello@nritaxca.com with a brief description of your situation. We respond within 2 hours with a fixed written quote.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain — collectively the GCC countries — are home to the largest concentration of Non-Resident Indians in the world. Millions of Indians working in the Gulf own property in India, hold NRO accounts, earn rental income, or are planning to sell Indian assets and remit the proceeds home to their Gulf bank accounts. This guide covers everything Gulf NRIs need to know about Form 145, Form 146, and the Lower TDS Certificate for 2026.

What Changed in April 2026 for Gulf NRIs

From 1 April 2026, under the Income Tax Act 2025, Form 15CA and Form 15CB have been replaced by Form 145 and Form 146. If you are remitting money from your NRO account or from property sale proceeds to your UAE, Saudi, or Kuwait bank account, your Indian bank now requires Form 145 (online declaration) and Form 146 (CA certificate) instead of the old forms. Banks that continue to accept Form 15CA/15CB after this date are operating under a transition grace period — the legally compliant documents are Form 145 and Form 146.

India-UAE DTAA — What Gulf NRIs Need to Know

India has a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with the UAE, effective since 1993. The India-UAE DTAA is particularly favourable for NRIs because the UAE levies no personal income tax — meaning Indian taxes paid on income like property sale gains or NRO interest can reduce your total tax burden to the Indian rate alone, with no additional UAE tax.

Key DTAA provisions for Gulf NRIs: capital gains from sale of Indian immovable property are taxable only in India; interest income from NRO accounts is taxable in India (at 30% or the reduced DTAA rate on application); rental income from Indian property is taxable in India with a 30% standard deduction; and there is no UAE-side tax on Indian-source income for UAE residents.

To claim DTAA benefits, Gulf NRIs must obtain a Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) from the UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) and file Form 10F electronically on the Indian Income Tax portal. We assist with both.

UAE TRC — How to Obtain It

The UAE Tax Residency Certificate is issued by the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) at tax.gov.ae. Requirements for individuals include: Emirates ID, valid UAE residence visa, bank statement or salary certificate confirming UAE residency, and proof of at least 183 days physical presence in the UAE in the relevant year. Processing typically takes 5–10 working days. This certificate is mandatory for DTAA benefits in Form 146. We include guidance on TRC application as part of our service.

When Do Gulf NRIs Need Form 145 and Form 146?

Lower TDS Certificate for Gulf NRIs Selling Indian Property

Gulf NRIs selling Indian property face the same 20%+ TDS on the full sale value as other NRIs. On a ₹1 crore property, that is ₹20 lakhs withheld at registration. A Lower TDS Certificate (Form 128) reduces TDS to the actual tax liability — typically saving ₹12–18 lakhs on a standard property sale. This is our most requested service from Gulf NRI clients.

Apply at least 30 days before property registration. The Income Tax Officer typically processes applications within 15–30 days. Starting ₹7,999.

Our Process for Gulf NRI Clients

Everything is handled over email and WhatsApp — no office visit required. Gulf NRIs share documents via email, we review the case and send a fixed quote within 2 hours, and deliver Form 146 certificates within 24–48 hours of payment. We are familiar with the India-UAE, India-Saudi Arabia, and India-Kuwait DTAAs and apply the correct provisions in every Form 146 certificate.

Pricing

Email us at hello@nritaxca.com or WhatsApp us. We respond within 2 hours with a written fixed quote.

Client details have been anonymised. Published with client permission.

The Situation

In January 2026, we were contacted by R.S., a software engineer living in Melbourne, Australia, who had inherited a flat in Pune from his father. The flat was purchased by his father in 2003 for ₹18 lakhs. R.S. had found a buyer willing to pay ₹95 lakhs.

His buyer’s lawyer informed him that TDS would be deducted at 20% on the entire sale value — that is ₹19 lakhs withheld from his sale proceeds. R.S. would receive only ₹76 lakhs at registration and would need to wait months for a refund after filing an ITR.

R.S. searched online, found our site, and emailed us asking if there was any way to reduce this TDS. Our response came within 2 hours.

Our Assessment

After reviewing the property details, we ran the capital gains computation:

R.S.’s actual tax liability was approximately ₹5.35 lakhs — but without a Lower TDS Certificate, ₹19 lakhs would be deducted. That is ₹13.65 lakhs of excess deduction that would sit with the Income Tax Department for 12–18 months.

We confirmed he was eligible for a Lower TDS Certificate (Form 128, erstwhile Form 13) under Section 395 of the Income Tax Act 2025.

What We Did

We sent R.S. a document checklist. He shared his PAN, passport, sale agreement, father’s original purchase deed, and his Australian Tax Residency Certificate from the ATO. We also assisted him with electronically filing Form 10F on the Indian Income Tax portal.

Within 48 hours of receiving his documents, we prepared and filed the Form 128 application with the Jurisdictional Income Tax Officer in Pune, including a detailed capital gains computation, DTAA analysis under the India-Australia treaty, and a covering letter explaining the basis for the lower deduction request.

The Income Tax Officer issued the Lower TDS Certificate within 22 days — instructing the buyer to deduct TDS only on the actual capital gain of ₹42.8 lakhs, at the applicable rate of 12.5%.

The Result

R.S. received ₹89.65 lakhs at registration instead of ₹76 lakhs. He then remitted the proceeds to his ANZ Bank account in Melbourne using Form 145 and Form 146, which we also handled — with the DTAA provisions correctly applied so he could claim the Indian tax paid as a foreign tax credit in his Australian ITR.

What R.S. Said

“I had no idea I could reduce the TDS before the sale. My local accountant in Melbourne had no clue about Indian tax law. NRI Tax CA handled everything over email — I didn’t visit a single office. The certificate came through in 22 days and I saved over ₹13 lakhs. Worth every rupee of the fee.”

— R.S., Melbourne, Australia (name changed for privacy)

Key Lessons for NRIs Selling Indian Property

1. Apply for the Lower TDS Certificate early — before signing the sale agreement. The process takes 15–30 days and cannot be done retroactively after registration.
2. Your Australian accountant cannot help with Indian TDS — you need an ICAI-registered CA who specialises in NRI taxation.
3. The India-Australia DTAA matters — correct DTAA application in Form 146 ensures you can claim the Indian tax as a foreign tax credit in Australia without disputes from the ATO.
4. 100% online process — no office visits required anywhere. Everything was handled by email between Melbourne and our team.

Our Service for NRI Property Sales

We handle the complete NRI property sale compliance package: Lower TDS Certificate (Form 128), capital gains computation, Form 145 + Form 146 for repatriation, and NRI ITR filing. Each case is reviewed personally by our CA team — nothing is auto-generated.

Email us at hello@nritaxca.com with your property details for a free eligibility check. We will confirm within 2 hours whether a Lower TDS Certificate applies to your situation and what it could save you.