GIFT City · IFSC
GIFT City for NRIs: your investment routes, and how India taxes each
GIFT City is India's International Financial Services Centre — a foreign-currency zone with its own concessional tax rules. Here's what an NRI can actually do there, what's tax-free and what isn't, and how to run it all from abroad.
- ICAI-registered CA
- India side only — you stay abroad
- Written quote first
What GIFT City actually is
GIFT City — the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City near Gandhinagar — hosts India's only International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). Inside it, banks, fund managers and insurers operate in foreign currency (mostly USD) under a single regulator, the IFSCA. Think of it as an offshore-style financial hub that happens to sit on Indian soil — built with a tax regime meant to be globally competitive.
For an NRI, that combination is the appeal: you can hold and earn in foreign currency, get a concessional tax treatment on several income streams, and still deal with one Indian regulator and one Indian CA — without routing money to a third country.
Why NRIs look at GIFT City
- Hold and earn in foreign currency (USD and others) without moving money to an offshore jurisdiction.
- A concessional tax regime — several income streams are exempt or lightly taxed for non-residents.
- Indian-soil regulation (IFSCA) with access to global-market products — deposits, funds and listed instruments.
- One CA keeps the India-side compliance clean while you stay where you live.
Your routes into GIFT City
Each route has its own deep guide. Start here, then dig into the one that fits you.
Want a CA to handle your GIFT City / IFSC tax and repatriation?
We file your ITR-2, apply your treaty on any taxable income, and run the 15CA / 15CB paperwork. You stay abroad.
Senior CA who specialises in NRI tax · we deal with the tax officer, you don't
What's tax-free, what isn't
A plain-English snapshot. The deep guides above carry the specifics.
FCY deposit interest (IFSC banking unit)
Exempt for non-residents under Section 10(15)(viii); no TDS. We still report it as exempt income in your ITR-2 so it doesn't surface as a mismatch against your PAN.
Income from IFSC funds
Sits in the IFSC concessional regime — several streams are exempt or lightly taxed for non-residents. The exact treatment depends on the fund and income type.
Adjacent Indian income (NRO interest, dividends, fund payouts)
Taxable in India, but reducible to your country's treaty rate with Form 10F / Form 41 plus a Tax Residency Certificate.
Moving the money abroad
A Form 15CA declaration plus, where the remittance is taxable, a CA-certified Form 15CB — renumbered Form 145 / 146 from FY 2026-27 — filed so the bank can release the transfer.
Doing it from abroad
You don't need to fly to India for any of this. We start on WhatsApp, file your ITR-2 with the GIFT City income reported correctly, apply your country's treaty on anything that is taxable, and run the Form 15CA / 15CB paperwork when you repatriate. Where the tax office needs someone to appear, we represent you under Section 288 — you stay abroad.
Common questions
Is interest on a GIFT City FCY fixed deposit taxable in India?
No — for a non-resident, interest on a foreign-currency deposit with an IFSC banking unit is exempt under Section 10(15)(viii), and no TDS is deducted. We still report it as exempt income in your ITR-2 so it is on record and doesn't look like an undisclosed entry against your PAN.
If GIFT City income is tax-free, why file anything?
Two reasons. The bank files an interest statement against your PAN, so an unreported figure can show up as an AIS mismatch and prompt a notice. And most NRIs with IFSC income also have other Indian income — NRO interest, rent, capital gains — that does need a return, so we file the whole picture in one ITR-2.
Where do DTAA and Form 10F come in if the interest is exempt?
The Section 10(15)(viii) exemption covers the FCY deposit interest itself. But income that often sits alongside it — NRO interest, dividends, fund distributions — can be taxed in India and reduced to your treaty rate. That is where we file Form 10F (replaced by Form 41 from FY 2026-27) with your Tax Residency Certificate.
Can you help me move my GIFT City / IFSC money abroad?
Yes. We coordinate the Form 15CA declaration and, where the remittance is taxable, the CA-certified Form 15CB (renumbered Form 145 / 146 from FY 2026-27) your bank needs before releasing funds, and we line it up with your return so the transfer clears without repeated queries.
Have GIFT City / IFSC income? Let's get the India side right.
An ICAI-registered CA who does NRI tax every day — remote, written quote first.
Senior CA who specialises in NRI tax · we deal with the tax officer, you don't