Lower or nil TDS certificate for NRIs (Form 13, s.197) — what part of this actually needs a professional?
Some of it, yes — and we will say so on the call if that is the honest answer. The parts that are worth paying for are the ones where a missed election, a missed deadline or an unverified threshold costs more than the fee: the application is filed before the transaction with computations, cost evidence and the treaty position, and the certificate names the payer, the payee and the period.
What if I have already filed and got it wrong?
That is a common starting point. We re-derive the position, identify whether an amendment or a disclosure route is the right vehicle, and tell you which one preserves the relief that is still available. The order matters more than the speed.
How long will it take?
It depends on the documents rather than on us. Once the pack is complete most filings turn around inside a fortnight; anything that needs a certificate from a tax authority runs on that authority's timetable, which we tell you at the start rather than at the end.
Can I stop the buyer deducting tax on my property sale?
You can reduce it, and sometimes remove it, but only before the transaction. That is what the lower or nil deduction certificate under s.197 is for. Without one, the buyer deducts against your gross sale consideration, because a payer has no way of knowing what your actual gain is. The application on Form 13 puts the computation in front of the department in advance, so the deduction can be set against something closer to the real tax. Once completion has happened and the money has gone, this route is closed and recovery moves to the Indian return instead.
What happens if I apply for the certificate after the sale?
The certificate is forward-looking, so an application filed after the payment has been made does not reach back and undo the deduction. At that point the money has already left, and the only route to it is filing an Indian return for the year, computing the real gain, and claiming the excess as a refund. That is a slower recovery, and it obliges you to file where you might otherwise not have needed to. The practical lesson is timing: the application belongs in the period before completion, alongside the sale documents, not after them.
What goes into a Form 13 application?
Three things, and the weakest of them decides the outcome. A computation showing what the real tax on the transaction is expected to be. Evidence supporting the cost side of that computation, which for an older property means the original purchase papers, the improvement spend and whatever documents establish how the property came to you. And, where it applies, the treaty position you are relying on, stated rather than assumed. The certificate that comes back names the payer, the payee and the period it covers, so those details have to be right in the application as well.
Does one certificate cover every buyer and every tenant?
No. The certificate names the payer, so it authorises one specific person or entity to deduct at the stated rate for the stated period. A second buyer, a co-purchaser paying separately, or a new tenant partway through the year is a different payer, and is not covered by a certificate issued against someone else. This catches people with more than one source of Indian receipts, who obtain a certificate for the largest one and assume the rest follow. Work out who will actually be paying you, and how many payers that is, before the application goes in.
The buyer already deducted tax on the full price. Now what?
Recovery is by filing. The deduction was computed on the gross consideration; your tax is computed on the gain after cost, and the difference between the two is what you are reclaiming. Filing the Indian return for that year sets out the real computation, credits what was deducted against it, and claims the balance as a refund. The evidence that supports the cost side is the same evidence that would have supported an advance application, so nothing gathered for one is wasted on the other. The difference is how long you wait for your own money.
Why is the deduction so much bigger than the tax I owe?
Because the two are measured on different things. Deduction at source is applied by a payer who knows only what he is paying you, so it is computed on gross receipts. Your tax is computed on the gain after the cost of acquisition, improvement spend and the other reliefs the computation allows. On a property held for a long time, the gap between gross consideration and real gain can be most of the transaction. That gap is not an overcharge — it is the consequence of deducting before anyone has looked at your figures, which is precisely what the advance certificate is designed to prevent.
Do I pay tax twice on a foreign dividend?
Not at full rates if the relief is claimed. The paying country usually withholds at source, capped by treaty where one applies and the paperwork is in place; your residence country then taxes the dividend and credits the foreign withholding against its own charge. Where the withholding exceeded the treaty rate because no declaration was filed, the excess is recovered from the paying country, not credited at home. See the dividends article.
Is dividend income from Indian shares taxable for an NRI?
Yes. Dividends are taxed in the shareholder's hands, and the paying company withholds on payment to a non-resident. The treaty can reduce that withholding, but only if the documents are with the company before it pays: a tax residency certificate from your country, Form 10F, and a PAN on the register. Without them the domestic rate applies and your route back to the difference is a refund claim on an Indian return. See residency certificates and Form 10F.
