India – Foreign Nationals Exempted from Aadhaar Card Requirement
On May 11, 2017, the Indian Ministry of Finance issued a notification exempting certain taxpayers, including foreign nationals, from the requirement to obtain an Aadhaar card.
As reported in our alert in April, Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique identification number issued on a card by the Indian government to every individual resident of India.
Effective July 1, 2017, the Finance Act 2017 made it mandatory to quote an Aadhaar number to file income tax returns (ITR) or to apply for or renew a PAN (Permanent Account Number). However, Notification No.37/2017 exempts foreign nationals from this requirement. A foreign national will continue to require a PAN (Permanent Account Number) to submit their income tax return (ITR).
Foreign national taxpayers in India can continue to submit their tax returns supported by a PAN (Permanent Account Number), and do not need to obtain an Aadhaar card.