Residential status of an individual for tax purposes is usually based on the period of stay in India during a financial year. Residency rule under the income tax law requires an individual to be present in India during the relevant year for a minimum of 182 days to qualify as a resident. Further, in certain cases even presence in India for a cumulative period of 60 or 120 days in a single financial year can make the person an Indian tax resident, subject to certain conditions.

Thus, presence in India for a minimum number of days has always been an essential precondition for an individual to qualify as a tax resident of India and to expose certain amount of his/her global income to tax in India.

Now the question is can someone be treated as a tax resident of India even if he/she has not spent a single day in India during a year? The answer is yes. Let us see how.