A Non-Resident Indian (NRI) has claimed that the Chartered Accountants (CAs) appointed by the company he works in are forcing him into paying a huge amount as income tax. Stating that his CAs are “scamming” him, the user in a post on Reddit said that the amount is as large as half a million (Rs 5 lakh).
“My CAs are scamming me into paying Income tax in India. I’m a NRI who returned back to India at the end of February. I left my job in the UK and have returned to India permanently. My company appointed CAs are trying to coerce me into paying a huge amount (almost half a million) in Income tax in India,” the Redditor said.
“I have only spent 75 days in India in 24-25. I tried showing them all tax laws including the latest 2020 law citing need to spend 182 days in India and not 60 days like they say to qualify as resident,” the user further added in the post.
‘What’s going on inside their head?’
The user said that despite telling the CAs about the laws and rules, they are “hell bent on not filing it as NRI. I wonder what’s going on inside their head?”
“I’m changing my CA. What do you think about it?” the user said, seeking opinion from fellow Redditors. He further mentioned that his CA gave him a “soft threat” that they won’t be supporting him with litigation work.
Furthermore, the user added that he used cleartax Elite package to file his ITR. “Didn’t pay a single penny,” he added.
My CAs are scamming me into paying Income tax in India.
byu/Round_Advantage2703 inreturnToIndia
Netizens call CAs’ behaviour ‘laziness’ and incompetence’
A number of users commented on the post. A user advised the Redditor not to go for maliciousness as what has happened is severe laziness or incompetence. “They are replying with huge long mails , but not admitting their incompetence,” the person replied to the post.
“Doesn’t sound like a scam! Maybe they are just incompetent or you are mistaken. Please talk to a few good CAs and figure out what the exact filing should look like,” said another.
A third user explained the law and said, “You tell them that you are a non-resident for this tax year. Secondly tell them the scope of taxable income in case your income earned in India is less than 15 lac.”
“If they are not agreeing the same just change the consultant (You can use cleartax if you don’t prefer consulting a human )maybe,” the comment further read.
Another asked the Redditor to “consult some CA” and also volunteered to recommend some. “Report them to ICAI,” suggested one another.
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