I’m an Indian passport holder, and I have been employed in Dubai since mid-September. Due to the situation here, I want to temporarily shift back for safety reasons. If I come right now, my stay in India for FY 2025-26 will exceed 182 days. Can I claim that my return and extended stay are due to factors beyond my control? Is there any precedent?
Name withheld on request
Based on the facts you mentioned, I understand that you left India for employment in FY 2025–26 and that, prior to this, you had been residing in India throughout.
Under the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (‘ITA’), an individual’s residential status is primarily determined by the number of days spent in India during a financial year. Broadly, an individual becomes a resident in India if either of the following basic conditions is satisfied:
1. The individual stays in India for 182 days or more during the relevant financial year; or
2. The individual stays in India for 60 days or more during the financial year and 365 days or more during the preceding four financial years.
However, the law provides certain relaxations in the following situations: in the year in which an individual leaves India for employment abroad, the second condition mentioned above is relaxed, and the 60-day threshold is increased to 182 days. Similarly, when an individual residing abroad visits India, the 60-day threshold is again replaced with 182 days.
In your case, you have indicated that if you return to India during March, your total stay in India during FY 2025–26 would exceed 182 days. If that is correct, then the above relaxations may not provide any relief. This is because these provisions only increase the relevant threshold up to 182 days, but they do not permit any further extension beyond that limit.
So, if your physical presence in India crosses 182 days during the financial year, you would ordinarily meet the basic residency condition under the Act. Once you qualify as a Resident and Ordinarily Resident (ROR) under ITA, your global income becomes taxable in India. In such a situation, your employment income earned in Dubai would also form part of your taxable income in India for FY25-26.
If you are able to meet the 183-day presence requirement in 2026 and qualify as a UAE tax resident, you may then evaluate the applicability of the India-UAE double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) for the overlapping period from January to March 2026.
There have been only a few instances in which relief was considered in exceptional circumstances. For example, during the initial phase of the covid pandemic, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued a general relaxation circular to address hardships arising from lockdowns and suspension of international flights. Even in the later phase of the pandemic, cases involving potential double taxation were to be examined by the authorities on a case-by-case basis.
It may also be noted that reliance on the Delhi High Court’s decision in Suresh Nanda may be difficult in practice. In that case, the court itself clarified that the ruling was confined to the specific facts where the individual’s presence in India was against his will and without his consent. Therefore, its application to other situations is quite limited.
Finally, it is important to note that an individual generally cannot approach CBDT in advance for relaxation on residency days. If relief is sought at all, it would typically be through an individual representation made after the event, demonstrating genuine hardship.
Harshal Bhuta is partner at P. R. Bhuta & Co. CAs
