Why Indian expats need to get Aadhaar ID
GOVERNMENT’S MOVE TO LINK IT WITH PERMANENT ACCOUNT NUMBER BY JUNE 30 CAUSES PANIC AMONG THOSE WITH INCOME BACK HOME
Government’s move to link the card with Permanent Account Number (PAN) by June 30 causes panic among those with income back home
Indian expatriates are concerned about the latest move by the Indian government to make Aadhaar identity card mandatory for accessing several services and transactions.
Most Indian expats, who mostly use passports as their primary identification document, do not have the bio-metric identity card that was introduced six years ago.
However, the latest government moves to link Aadhaar card with PAN (Permanent Account Number – issued by income tax authorities for tax and financial transactions) by June 30, 2017 has caused panic among NRIs.
PAN is mandatory for several banking transactions, including to make bank deposits cash above Rs50,000 (Dh2,750). The PAN will be redundant after the June 30 deadline, if it is not linked with Aadhaar card.
Although NRIs are exempted from income-tax on their income abroad, they have to file tax returns for their income earned in India above Rs500,000 per annum, for which PAN is mandatory.
Alok Tuteja, an internal audit manager, based in Abu Dhabi. “I took the Aadhaar card five years ago and linked it with PAN last year as I had to file tax returns on my rental income in India,” he said.
A redundant PAN for not having Aadhaar card will also
affect NRIs who invest in Indian stock market, for which PAN is mandatory.
Aadhaar will be required to book online train tickets from May.
“Many NRIs travel by train from the airports as their small towns are linked by rail and road only. This rule will affect them,” said Nandita Tushar Raut, 31, in Dubai.
Aadhaar may become mandatory by October to apply for
or renew Indian driving licence.
This week, telecom operators have been directed to reverify their existing subscribers through Aadhaar card by February 6, 2018.
As more and more services
are coming under Aadhaar’s ambit, NRIs may have to rush to get it.
About the NRIs’ worry about the issue, Navdeep Singh Suri, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, told Gulf News: “We have
also noted these concerns and have brought them to the attention of the relevant officials in Delhi. We will get back with a more substantive response once we hear from them,” he said.