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Month: March 2018

Must You Have Aadhaar Card for Passport and Bank Account

Must You Have Aadhaar Card for Passport and Bank Account

Are you still in a hurry to link your mobile phone number and bank account with your Aadhaar Card?

Although it was mandatory, yet the honourable Supreme Court has postponed this idea. The apex court has held the verdict over it infinitely. Erstwhile, the central government insisted to link Aadhaar with the welfare schemes. It stated that this linking would definitely cease Benami deals and parking of black money.

This implementation dug many potholes for the non-resident Indians. Every year, many of them renew their passport to extend their eligibility for traveling here. But, the diaspora with the Indian passport took it as a decision taken on the spur of the moment. It needs time to apply for the Aadhaar card. In the meantime, it has to through the police verification again to get the police clearance certificate. Otherwise, the non-residents won’t be able to visit here without any hitch.

The Supreme Court Extends Aadhaar Link Date:

To counter that decision of the government, a number of petitions were filed. All those petitions subtly stated this decision as a violation of the right to privacy. Therefore, the Apex Court kick started the hearing. Its verdict is yet in the pipeline. Till then, nobody or a governing body can insist upon linking bank accounts and mobile phone numbers with it.

In all, the non-resident community can heave a sigh of relief. Moreover, it would have enough time to get the Aadhaar number. But, that decision would purely be voluntary, not the mandate.

Aadhaar Necessary But Only for Tatkaal Passport & new bank account:

However, the Supreme Court has ordered to continue the mandate of mentioning the UIDAI number while applying for the Tatkal passport and a new bank account.

Plus, the same court has dispelled suspicion over using this unique number for utilizing various benefits, subsidies and services under the Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016. It stated that these targeted delivery of Financial and other subsidies/benefits/services would require the Aadhaar number to grab those facilities.

In December 2017, the court had ordered for extending the deadline of linking all bank accounts and mobile phone numbers with the Aadhaar. It implied that every Indian, be it a resident or non-resident, had to acquire this unique number and link it with the bank accounts/mobile phone number.

This mandate was challenged. Consequently, the bench of the Supreme Court postponed this idea till the time the verdict will be out.

Till then, the PIOs and OCIs can enclose the below mentioned documents for renewing their passport.

Documents Required for Renewing Passport:

  • Old passport
  • Self-attested photocopies of the first two and the last two passport pages
  • Self-attested photocopy of the ECR or Non-ECR page
  • Self-attested photocopy of the validity extension pages

In case, the NRI has lost his passport, he/she should enclose these documents in support:

  • An affidavit stating the date, time and place of the lost passport
  • Original FIR
  • Address proof, like Voter ID/ Aadhaar Card/Rental Agreement/ Income Tax Assessment order/ Electricity Bill/ Water Bill
  • Certificate from the foreign employer with his seal and signature
  • Passport of the spouse (if any)
  • Parent’s passport
  • Birth certificate/School Leaving Certificate stating the date of the birth of the applicant
  • An affidavit from the magistrate/sub-divisional magistrate

Drill in the head that the address proof that you’re likely to enclose as a supporting document should have the current address or the updated one. In all, it should be similar to the details mentioned in the parents or the spouse passport.  Otherwise, your passport renewal application would be rejected. So, be ready with all these documents.

Tax Benefits for NRIs Over Real Estate Investment in India

Tax Benefits for NRIs Over Real Estate Investment in India

The homesickness tends to attract non-residents in their native country. Their nostalgia compels them to plan for shifting here again after retirement. At that point, they often sweat out.

Reason?

Many factors are responsible for it. So far, there are a few massive obstacles that can trap you (if you’re the NRI) up. Let’s share a few vital points that are significant from your aspect if you’re planning to invest in the real estate in India.

I’ll begin with what FEMA states.

What FEMA says?

The Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) is the licit regulation that states the rules & guidelines for the expats. The real estate investment of the NRIs comes within its index.  This regulatory act is governed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It’s basically drafted to pat the foreign investment in this sector.

This Act subtly reads that the PIOs/OCIs/NRIs own right to purchase a piece of land or any property here. This is permissible provided that the land or property must not be an agricultural land or a farm house. Moreover, they can invest in any commercial land.

However, if anyone is a blue blood, the property can be any immovable or movable one.

What about the loan availability for NRIs?

The expat with an Indian passport, mostly, have foreign currency. So, they intend to transact in that currency. But, the regulatory Act denies such kind of permission. Only Indian currency is valid for making this kind of deal. Also, the conduit must be an Indian bank, like PNB or SBI. They must have their account in any of these banks.

As far as the loan is concerned, you as the NRI/PIO/OCI can owe it if you get a green signal in paperwork. Many real-estate companies attract foreign clients to transact in the residential or commercial land/property. The investor must make sure that all your payments towards inward remittance should be through NRE/NRO account.

Moreover, they offer loan availability as well. So, if you’re on a shoestring, you can dream of a house of your own. To enjoy this loan facility, you should have at least 20% of the total value of the property. It means that you can get around 80% of the loan from any reliable source.

What if you’ll not be physically present to deal?

The physical unavailability can be answered through Power of Attorney (PoA).  It defines that it’s ok if you can’t be present at the deal. You can go a round of discussion with your lawyer. Thereafter, it won’t be a big deal to empower the third party (like your lawyer or relative or builder or a trusted associate) with the PoA.

Drill in your head that it’s an extremely sensitive issue. You can lose your hard-earned money into the hands of any fraud. So, make sure that the chosen attorney would be reliable and trustworthy.

What are the tax benefits for the non-residents? 

The Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961 clearly defines that the foreign resident with Indian passport can claim for the tax deduction. It’s available upto 1 Lakh. But the Act has two provisions:

  1. The property sold within 3 years of its purchase
  2. The property sold after 3 years of its purchase

The first case would be termed as a short term capital gain. If you’ve earned any rental income in this case, it would be taxable. The second case would define as a long term capital gain. In this case, the expat can utilize his money by investing in another property.

Children Under 5 Years Get Blue Aadhaar Card in India

Children Under 5 Years Get Blue Aadhaar Card in India

 

Are you willing to enroll your kid’s name for the Aadhaar Card?

Its processing won’t involve the steps of registration that the teenagers & youths follow. The competent authority Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) published more than a couple of tweets in the month of February, 2018. All these tweets recite the updates regarding this card. These updates are basically meant for the tiny tots who are just five or below.

It’s a must to drill these updates in your head timely. You can get rid of glitches in the banking transactions, passport making and telecom services in the upcoming years.

What are the Aadhaar Updates for the kids below 5 years?

  1. Blue Card for Under 5 Kids:

The UIDAI has tweeted a fresh update on its official Twitter account. It has introduced a ‘Baal Aadhaar Card’ for a particular age group. The kids who are upto 5 years of age will be segregated under this age-group.

What’s the requirement?

So far, the UIDAI has announced to mandatorily provide the child’s birth certificate. If the parents have not yet registered their wards birth, they must get it done shortly. Otherwise, their children would definitely face off hitches in the future. If the parents have any plan to migrate or become an NRI, it would be a helpful tool.

To name the second requirement, the competent authority has directed to append the parent’s Aadhaar card number. Either mother or father can provide this detail to the authority. That will be valid to authenticate the Aadhaar application of their ward.

Cheers! The kids’ biometric details are not necessary. It defines that there is no need to scan the iris and finger prints of your ward.

  1. When to scan biometrics:

One more tweet reads the official twitter handle of the foretold authority. It cites that upto 5 years, no scanning of the iris and pupil will be required. But once the kids surpass that threshold of the 5 years of age, it’s a mandatory practice to come down to the nearby Aadhaar center for updating the card. The registry of biometric details fulfills this formality. The respective authority doesn’t charge a single penny for it.

  1. Mandatory to upgrade the biometrics at 15 years of age:

The authority has mandated to upgrade the biometric details at 15 years of age. The parents along with their ward must visit the nearby UIDAI office with the supporting documents. It determines that the children when reached the threshold of 15, they have to scan their finger prints and iris again.

These facilities would cost no arm and a leg. It would be absolutely free government service.

What are the steps to get blue coloured Baal Aadhaar card?

  1. Visit the UIDAI office. It must be located nearby your house.
  2. Take its enrollment form from the office.
  3. Fill it completely providing valid details of the kid’s birth and self’s Aadhaar number.
  4. Mention the mobile number to be registered with the blue card.
  5. Capture the picture of the kid. Except biometrics, the picture will be attached onto the form.
  6. Attach the supporting documents as aforementioned. The child’s school Id from any recognized educational institution can be attached to the enrollment form.
  7. Once all formalities will be fulfilled, you can get the acknowledgement slip from the office.
  8. This slip would enable you to catch on the Aadhaar status updates online.
  9. Subsequently, an SMS will be issued to notify the successful submission of the enrollment form. The message will flash on the registered number that would be registered in the form.
  10. These formalities would reach their termination at the delivery of this card. The entire process would take at least 60 days. Thereafter, you can collect it either by post or manually. If you find it feasible, collect it online using the number mentioned on the acknowledgement slip.

 

 

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