« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Delhi HC Rules GST Registration Cannot Be Cancelled Retrospectively Without a Clear Show Cause Notice (SCN)  Belated income tax return AY 2026-27: How to file, late filing charges and what you may lose  Major Financial Changes from August 1, 2026: ITR Deadline, RBI MPC Meeting, Tatkal Ticket Rules & More  Government proposes to ease tax relief conditions for offshore funds  TallyPrime Connected Banking: Automating Banking and Accounting  ITR Filing Deadline 2026: Is July 31 the Last Date to File Your Income Tax Return? Latest Official Update  ITR filing deadline nears: How to file income tax return online on e-filing portal - quick 15-step guide  Will the ITR Filing Deadline Be Extended Beyond July 31 for FY 2025-26? Here's the Latest Update for Taxpayers  Income Tax Refund Delayed for AY 2026-27? 5 Common Reasons Your Refund May Be Stuck and How to Fix It  ITR Filing 2026: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Asks Tax Officials to Let Honest Taxpayers Correct Genuine Mistakes  Will Your FCNR Deposit Stay Tax-Free After Returning to India? Tax Rules Explained for NRIs «  Tax sops sought for food processing cos... VAT and the season: Govt gets the ‘date’ wrong... » Foreign NGOs may face fringe benefit tax September, 29th 2006 The Indian Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) has decided in a recent case that a foreign non-governmental organisation (NGO) is liable to pay fringe benefit tax (FBT) in India. The FBT will be payable even if there is no income tax payable on its total income in the country. NGOs by their nature are non-profit organisations and do not generate any income as defined by the Income Tax Act (ITA). AARs ruling means that a non-resident, whose income is not taxable under the ITA, is liable to pay FBT in India. Any NGO, which has not obtained tax exempt status in India, would be liable to pay FBT, irrespective of whether it is set up as a liaison office or a branch or a chapter in India and is tax exempt in its home country. While the ruling is specific to one case, it will set precedent for similar entities in the country. Foreign NGOs will have to seek a specific tax exempt status from the commissioner of income tax and will have to be registered with them. The registration requires the NGO to meet certain criteria like 85% of their corpus needs to be invested in development activities, etc, Archana Rajaram, associate at legal firm Nishith Desai & Associates, said. AAR has given a ruling in a case presented by the Population Council, a US NGO which works in the area of family planning and population control. The NGO enjoys tax exemption in the US under the Internal Revenue Code. The NGO claims that its activities in India fall within the approved objects for the purpose of granting exemption in the US. It has a regional office and a country head office India. Population Inc does not have exemption from income tax in India under Sections 10 (23C) or 12AA of the ITA. The NGO voluntarily sought a ruling from the AAR on whether it is required to pay FBT in India. The ruling seems to be discriminating against foreign NGOs and seems unfair in nature, if Indian NGOs are exempt then foreign NGOs should also be treated similarly, T P Ostwal, senior chartered accountant, said.