How do I appeal an Indian assessment order as a non-resident?
The first appeal goes to the CIT(A) on Form 35, within a deadline that runs from the order, with a fee and a statement of facts and grounds. Two things matter more than the mechanics. The grounds fix the shape of the appeal, so they are drafted to cover the argument you will actually need rather than the complaint you feel. And for a non-resident, the treaty position, the residency evidence and the withholding trail belong in the record from the outset, because an appeal is decided on the record rather than on assertions made later. Our fee for preparing and running the appeal is agreed in writing before work starts.
What goes into the statement of facts and grounds?
The statement of facts is the history the appeal will be decided against: what was filed, what the officer asked, what was produced, and what the order concluded. Keep it to things a document can support, in date order. The grounds are the legal complaints about that order, one point per ground, each framed so the evidence you hold answers it. For a cross-border file the grounds normally have to reach the residency conclusion, the treaty entitlement relied on and the treatment of amounts withheld. Vague grounds are the expensive mistake, because the argument you want later has to fit inside the ground you wrote now.
Can I add a new ground after my appeal has been filed?
It is possible but harder, which is the practical reason the framing at filing matters so much. India's first appeal is where the grounds are fixed, and an argument introduced afterwards has to be justified as well as made. The defence against needing to is not padding the appeal with everything imaginable; it is drafting each ground at the level of the issue rather than the detail. A ground about how the residency conclusion was reached can carry several supporting arguments. A ground about one paragraph of one document usually cannot carry anything beyond that paragraph.
Is there a fee to file an appeal to the CIT(A)?
Yes, a fee is payable on filing, and it is paid before the appeal is taken on record, so it belongs in the checklist with the form rather than treated as an afterthought. Two other items sit alongside it: the appeal runs on a deadline calculated from the order, and the statement of facts and grounds has to be ready at the same time. Working backwards from the deadline is the only reliable way to arrive with all three in hand, particularly where documents have to come from a bank, an employer or a registry outside India before the statement of facts can be written accurately.
What happens if I miss the appeal deadline in India?
The deadline runs from the order, not from when the order reached you or when you understood it, and once it has passed you are asking to be let in rather than simply filing. That request has to be explained on its own facts, so what you can show about when the order came to your notice and what you did next becomes part of the file. The better response, if the date is close rather than gone, is to file inside the period with the statement of facts you can support and the documents you have, and to supplement the record afterwards rather than miss the filing entirely.
Which withholding records should be in my appeal record?
Everything that shows what was deducted, by whom, on what amount and when it was deposited, plus the return or reconciliation in which you accounted for it. For a non-resident the withholding trail is frequently the whole of the dispute, because tax is collected against the gross sum and the appeal is about what was actually taxable. Put that trail in the record from the outset alongside the treaty position and the residency evidence. An appeal that argues about liability without the deduction documents in front of the reader leaves the officer's figure as the only supported one.
Which countries have a tax treaty with the United States?
Around sixty, including Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Australia and most of western Europe — but the list matters less than the terms, because each treaty caps rates and allocates income differently. Two countries with treaties can produce opposite answers on the same pension or the same royalty. What decides your position is the specific article covering your income type. See our country guides.
I have not filed for several years while living abroad — what are my options?
Both countries have routes back, and using one before they contact you is what preserves the relief. On the US side there are procedures aimed at taxpayers whose failure was not wilful, including one designed for people living outside the country, and separate procedures for late account reports and information returns alone. Canada has its voluntary disclosures programme and taxpayer relief for penalties and interest. Filing quietly and hoping is the one approach with no protection attached to it. See catch-up filing.
