Comment

I have been working for the last 21 years in Africa. My income in India comes from various sources — interest on NRO deposits, short-term and long-term capital gains on sale of shares through demat account and on mutual funds.All these investments started 3-4 years ago. The gains are taxed at source and the balance is paid as net of TDS.Due to financial turmoil last year I suffered losses both on shares and mutual funds.I have not yet submitted my I-T returns in India will do so this year in order to take advantage of the provision in the income-tax Act on setting off losses and/or carrying forward the same for some years. Is it possible to obtain the necessary information to submit my I-T returns electronically, since I have a PAN card? Also let me know the due date for filing the return. — YG Rao
In India, the financial year ranges from April to March, the income-tax return for which has to be filed by July 31. Therefore, for FY 2010-11, you will have to file the return by July 31, 2011. Short-term capital losses may be set off against short-term or taxable long-term capital gains. Any long-term loss on sale of shares or mutual funds cannot be set off since any long-term gain from those sources is tax-free. You may file your return electronically if you so desire. The detailed procedure for the same can be found on https://incometax indiaefiling.gov.in/portal/index.jsp

I would like to get a clearer explanation of the following: My wife is Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card holder. I was born in undivided India and had a Bangladeshi passport when I came to Canada/US. We have two sons born in Canada. Can we (two sons and me) apply either for the PIO or OCI card? If so, how to do it? How long is the process and what are the documents required?
—Amalendu Chatterjee
The FEMA defines a Person of Indian Origin to mean —
A citizen of any country other than Bangladesh or Pakistan, if:
a) He at any time held an Indian passport or
b) He or either of his parents or any of his grand parents was a citizen of India by virtue of the Constitution of India or Citizenship Act, 1955.
c) The person is a spouse of an Indian citizen or of a person referred to in ‘a’ or ‘b’ above.
Obviously, you are not eligible to hold either of the cards. The case of your sons is different. They are Canadian citizens by virtue of their birth. Moreover, their father was surely a citizen of India before shifting to Bangladesh. If not, their mother a PIO, is not holding a Bangladeshi passport. Therefore, the sons are eligible for both the cards.

The writer is director, Wonderland Consultants a tax and financial planning firm. He may be contacted at sandeep.shanbhag@gmail.com