By IndiaHub 
I am currently employed in India and work for a US-based company, with my salary paid in INR and credited to my
Indian bank account. I will be getting married shortly and plan to move to the US thereafter. My employer has asked me to continue in the same role while working from the US, with salary to be credited to my Indian account. From an Indian tax perspective, will this arrangement be valid once my residential status changes to NRI?Amit Maheshwari, Tax Partner, AKM Global: Under the Income Tax Act, 1961, an individual who moves abroad and becomes a non-resident Indian (NRI) is taxed in India only on income that arises from work performed in India. This means that once you relocate to the United States and begin performing your job duties from there, your salary will be treated as income earned outside India, even if your employer continues to deposit the salary into your Indian bank account. The law focuses on where the work is actually done, not where the money is credited. Therefore, salary relating to services performed from the US will not be taxable in India, while any income earned for work done before leaving India will continue to be taxed in India in the normal manner. After relocation, your salary will be taxable in the United States, subject to relief available under the India– US Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.
One of my relatives is an Indian citizen residing in the UAE and engaged in business. He files tax returns in India, declaring interest and capital gains from equity and mutual fund transactions on Indian bourses. He sold two residential properties in 2024-25, incurred LTCG, and bought another property in April, seeking Section 54 exemption. If he obtains a UAE tax residency certificate, would the capital gains from equity and mutual funds be exempt under the India-UAE Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA)?
Shubham Agrawal Senior Taxation Adviser, TaxFile.in: As per Article 13(4) of the India-UAE DTAA, a UAE resident making gains from selling shares in India will be taxed in India. As for mutual fund sales, Article 13(5) shall apply. It’s a residual clause covering any assets not specifically mentioned elsewhere in Article 13. Since mutual funds are not specifically defined in the DTAA, the common interpretation is that mutual fund gains fall under this residual clause and are not taxable in India. However, Indian tax authorities sometimes dispute this, claiming that since no tax is actually paid in the UAE, the DTAA benefit should not apply. Such claims can still lead to litigation or scrutiny. To get this exemption, get a valid tax residency of the UAE and submit Form 10F along with your tax return.
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