Budget Expectations 2025: Deloitte expects Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to allow NR taxpayers to make tax payments from overseas bank accounts
Budget 2025: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to announce her 8th budget on Saturday, February 1, 2025. Ahead of the budget, financial services company, Deloitte, expects the minister to ease tax compliance for the purchase of property from non-residents.
)
Budget Expectations: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to announce Union Budget 2025 on Saturday (February 2025).
This will be her 8th budget with the last 2 coming in July and February 2024.
She presented the interim budget in February 2024.
After the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) retained power at the 2024 Parliamentary Elections, she presented the main budget in July 2024.
As the Finance Minister is set to present one more budget, financial advisory company Deloitte expects the central government to implement certain changes in the upcoming budget (Union Budget 2025). Here's what it expects from the government-
Ease of tax compliance for purchase of property from Non-Residents (NRs)
The firm wants the Finance Minister to simplify the TDS compliance for home buyers where the seller is an NRI.
It says that the current provisions require home buyers to withhold 1 per cent of the purchase value as Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), where the property value is Rs 50 lakh or more.
It says the TDS deposit process is simple and convenient if the seller is a resident (i.e., with the challan-cum-statement in Form no.26QB).
The company says that if the seller is an NRI, tax is withheld at a higher rate, and the buyer is also required to obtain a TAN, deposit the tax deducted and file e-TDS returns.
While the purchase and sale of the property is not a recurring transaction, obtaining TAN solely for the mentioned purpose may result in more inactive TANs.
To address this issue, the TDS process applicable for cases where the seller is an NRI may be eased by introducing these challan-cum-statements similar to those applicable for a resident seller, it expects.
Enable tax payments from overseas bank accounts (removing requirement of having bank account in India)
Deloitte says that at present, tax payments in India are accepted through various modes, such as net banking, debit cards, NEFT/RTGS and over-the-bank counter.
The bandwidth has been broadened to include many Indian banks and NEFT/RTGS payments and UPI payments.
However, these are possible with an Indian bank only, which makes it difficult for an NRI to make tax payments.
NR taxpayers residing overseas would benefit if they were allowed to make tax payments from their overseas bank accounts.
E-verification using OTPs to foreign mobile numbers
The introduction of e-filing of tax returns has improved the process, saving both time and effort.
The last mile step of e-filing is the e-verification process, which is restricted to having accounts with net banking/demat facilities with specified banks, Aadhaar OTP to India mobile numbers, digital signature certificates, etc.
The firm says that NR individuals who need to complete the tax return filing process could benefit if the e-verification process can be extended via OTP to foreign mobile numbers or have two-factor authentication (different OTPs for foreign mobile numbers and email addresses).
It further says that it would reduce paperwork and administrative tasks, such as tracking the ITR-V receipt by the tax office and applying for condonation of delays.
Further, the time limit of 30 days should be extended to facilitate verification through physical mode.
Credit of tax refund to overseas bank accounts
NR individuals, especially foreign nationals, who leave India after closing their bank accounts in the country could get a refund for various reasons.
The tax refund is payable only to pre-validated Indian bank accounts.
Any delay in refund processing could cause bank accounts (even if open under the NRO status) to go into dormant mode.
This would prevent the refund from being credited to the account.
To alleviate the difficulty, foreign bank accounts should be considered for tax refunds for PAN-holders registered as NR/foreign nationals, Deloitte expects.
Rationale and outcome
Ease of administrative hassle for the taxpayers
Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.
RECOMMENDED STORIES

Retirement Planning: How one-time investment of Rs 10,00,000 can create Rs 3,00,00,000 retirement corpus

New Tax Regime vs Old Tax Regime: How much tax will you pay if your annual income is Rs 5 lakh, Rs 9 lakh, Rs 13 lakh, Rs 19 lakh, and Rs 25 lakh?

Power of Rs 8,000 SIP: In how many years you can build Rs 9 crore corpus with just Rs 8,000 monthly investment

Monthly Salary Calculations: Is your basic salary Rs 24,500, Rs 53,000, or Rs 81,100? Know how much total salary central government employees may get

444-Day Special FDs: How much will you earn by investing Rs 5 lakh and Rs 7 lakh in SBI, Indian Overseas Bank, and Federal Bank fixed deposit schemes?

Power of Compounding: How long it will take to build Rs 8 crore corpus with Rs 7,000, Rs 11,000 and Rs 16,000 monthly investments
12:32 PM IST