U.S. Law Firms Consulting In India – Trap For The Unwary

International legal and independent professionals consulting in India often have issues receiving funds from their clients in India. India has stringent exchange control regulations contained in the Act called Foreign Exchange Management Act – FEMA. Accordingly all foreign remittances must go through certain procedures. Additionally, Income Tax Department asks for “Tax Residency Certificate” (TRC) from the US service provider so that the treaty benefits can be allowed. If TRC is not produced, the payer must withhold tax from the income remitted to US service provider. This is true regardless of where the services were provided.

Until recently, it was mandatory that TRC issued by foreign tax authority must contain all items required by the government of India in order to exempt any tax withholding requirements. As many of us are aware, Internal Revenue Service issues the US tax residency certificate in Form 6166 which cannot contain additional information as required by government of India. Due to this, in many cases, the Indian income tax department rejected the TRC issued by IRS and that resulted in withholding tax in India.

However, after a few representations, the government of India and the tax department agreed to accept the US residency certificate in its present Form 6166.

Accordingly the following documents are required to successfully receive payments form Indian companies without any withholding:

1. Form 10F

2. Permanent Account Number  (PAN or tax ID number)for India

3. US Form 6166 for the relevant tax year

4. Signed letter on US law firm’s letterhead stating that the law firm does not have a permanent establishment (PE) in India under the US – India tax treaty article.

Since the tax year in India runs from April 1 to March 31st, it is possible that some clients in India may request that the firm provide TRC issued by IRS in 2015 for payments processed in January through March 2015. Therefore US law firms may want to begin the process of collecting relevant data and partner signatures in advance, so as to file Form 8802 in a timely manner. This will expedite the process to receive TRC from IRS soon. Note that currently IRS charges a $85 user fee and processes the TRC within 45 days.

Please contact me on TaxConnections to receive assistance on both sides of the border.

Original Post By:  Pallav Acharya

 

Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant with a niche in international tax area since 1985. Specialties include cross border tax consultation and compliance for business and individual clients. Frequent speaker, author of articles on international tax topics. Founder- owner of boutique firm specializing in international tax planning and compliance.

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