No tax for NRIs who buy overseas tour packages: India

News Network

April 1, 2022

New Delhi, Apr 1: The Indian government has ruled that domestic tour operators do not have to collect tax on the sale of overseas tour packages for NRIs.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has relaxed the provision of tax collected at source of five per cent under the Income Tax act.

The CBDT said domestic tour operators claimed they faced difficulties in collecting tax from NRIs visiting India, who had bought overseas packages from them.

“Since such persons may not have a PAN (Permanent Account Number) card, tax is required to be collected at higher rates,” said a CBDT release. “Further, such non-residents may find it difficult to furnish their ITR and claim refunds.”

The move has been welcomed by many people involved with NRI-related taxation issues.

“The purpose was to collect information and monitor tax compliances of high spending individuals,” Neeraj Agarwala, partner, Nangia Andersen LLP, told a newspaper.

“However, the way the provisions were drafted, tour operators were even required to collect taxes from non-residents, who are otherwise not taxable in India, at the time of booking their return tickets from India.”

The five per cent tax was introduced in April 2020. However, the tour operators complained to the government about the difficulties they experienced and how they could not collect the tax from NRIs who did not have PAN/Aadhaar cards and could not claim tax refunds.

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Why Mangaluru Could Become India’s Next Offshore Wind Energy Hub

News Network

February 3,2026

Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta has urged the Centre to give high priority to offshore wind energy generation along the Mangaluru coast, citing its strategic importance to India’s green energy and port-led development goals.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha under Rule 377, Chowta said studies by the National Institute of Oceanography have identified the Mangaluru coastline as part of India’s promising offshore wind ‘Zone-2’, covering nearly 6,490 sq km. He noted that the region’s relatively low exposure to cyclones and earthquakes makes it suitable for long-term offshore wind projects and called for its development as a dedicated offshore wind energy zone.

Highlighting the role of New Mangalore Port, Chowta said its modern infrastructure, multiple berths and heavy cargo-handling capacity position it well as a logistics hub for transporting and assembling large wind energy equipment.

He also pointed to the presence of major industrial units such as MRPL, OMPL, UPCL and the Mangaluru SEZ, which could serve as direct buyers of green power through power purchase agreements, improving project viability and speeding up execution.

With Karnataka’s peak power demand crossing 18,000 MW in early 2025, Chowta stressed the need to diversify renewable energy sources. He added that offshore wind projects in the Arabian Sea are strategically safer compared to the cyclone-prone Bay of Bengal.

Calling the project vital to India’s target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, Chowta urged the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to initiate resource assessments, pilot projects and stakeholder consultations at the earliest.

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