Can I apply for an Indian PAN from outside India?
Yes. There is a separate application route for non-residents, and it carries its own documentation and attestation requirements rather than the ones an Indian resident would meet. The identifier is usually the first item on any Indian file, because without it a treaty declaration cannot be lodged, a refund cannot be claimed, and tax deducted by an Indian payer cannot be credited to you. Begin it early. The attestation step depends on other parties abroad, and it is the part that most often forces a second submission.
Do NRIs need an Aadhaar number as well?
The biometric identifier requirements are not the same for non-residents as for residents, so the starting point is to establish which category you fall in before assuming that an obligation attaches to you. Working the other way round is what causes the trouble, because an application or a linkage attempted on the wrong footing is rejected and has to be begun again. Settle your status first, then deal with the identifier requirement that actually applies to it rather than the one described in general guidance.
My buyer deducted tax against the wrong PAN, so how is it fixed?
Not by you. Where a deduction has been credited against the wrong identifier, the correction is made by the party who made the deduction, so the work is to establish what was deducted, show where it was credited, and put the deductor in a position to file the correction. Until that is done the amount is not available to you as a credit, however clearly it was your income. Expect to prepare the reconciliation yourself and hand it over, because the deductor rarely holds the full picture.
What documents does a non-resident PAN application need?
The non-resident route asks for proof of identity and of an address abroad, and it specifies who may attest those documents. The attestation rules are the part that matters in practice: papers certified by an authority the route does not accept are returned, and the application begins again. Before submitting, establish which authority is acceptable for the country you are in, and have every page attested consistently. Where the application supports a transaction already under way, allow for a resubmission in the timetable.
Can I claim an Indian refund without a PAN?
No. The identifier is what a return, a credit and a refund all attach to, so without it there is nothing for the department to match a claim against. That is why a non-resident who has suffered deductions for years but never obtained an identifier usually has an unrecovered position rather than a disputed one. The order of work is always the same: obtain the identifier, then bring the deductions into a claim for each year that is still open to one.
Why can I not lodge my treaty declaration with the bank?
Almost always because the identifier is missing, or does not match the bank's record of you. A declaration that a treaty rate applies has to be capable of being matched to a taxpayer, so a bank will not accept one without the identifier behind it. Until it is lodged, the bank deducts at the rate it applies where no declaration is on file, and the difference becomes something to reconcile on the return rather than something avoided at source.
What is Form 1042-S and what do I do with it?
The statement a US payer issues to a non-resident showing US-source income paid and tax withheld — the non-resident counterpart to a 1099. Use it two ways. In your own country it evidences the US tax paid for credit purposes. And where the rate withheld was higher than your treaty entitlement, or the income was not taxable at all, the way back to the money is a US non-resident return claiming the refund. Check the income and exemption codes before assuming the rate was right. See Form 1042-S.
What happens if two countries both say I am resident?
The treaty tie-breaker resolves it to one residence, applied in order: where your permanent home is, then your centre of vital interests, then your habitual abode, then nationality, with a competent-authority referral if all of those fail. It is an evidence exercise rather than an election — you document the home and the life around it. Getting a single residence settled is what makes every other position in both returns consistent. See the residency tie-breaker.
