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Why a Hong Kong resident pays Indian tax on Indian shares and funds, unlike Singapore

I live in Hong Kong and read that Singapore residents pay no Indian tax on Indian mutual funds. Do I get the same, or does the treaty work differently?

You live in Hong Kong, you hold Indian shares or mutual funds, and you have seen that residents of Singapore and the UAE can escape Indian capital gains tax through their treaties. You want to know whether Hong Kong gives you the same break, because it changes how you plan a sale. The short answer is that it does not, and it helps to understand why.
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Last reviewed: 30 July 20266 min readReviewed by Preetesh Maloo, CA

The short answer

The India-Hong Kong treaty does not exempt your Indian capital gains. Its capital-gains article lets India tax gains on Indian company shares, and its residual clause, unlike Singapore's or the UAE's, lets each country tax under its own law rather than giving the gain only to your country of residence. So gains on both Indian shares and Indian mutual fund units are taxable in India for a Hong Kong resident. Hong Kong has no capital gains tax of its own, so you are taxed once, in India, at the normal rates, with no treaty relief to claim. The Singapore route simply is not in this treaty.

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Why the Singapore route does not apply to you

Residents of Singapore and the UAE can escape Indian tax on gains from Indian mutual funds because those treaties have a residual clause that gives such gains to the country of residence only, and units are not shares, so they fall into that clause. It is a specific feature of those treaties.

Hong Kong's treaty with India is written differently on purpose. Its capital-gains article, Article 14, lets India tax gains on shares of an Indian company. And its residual clause, Article 14(6), says gains on any other property may be taxed in each country under its own law. That is not the same as taxable only in the country of residence. So the escape that works for Singapore is not in the Hong Kong treaty at all.

Both shares and fund units are taxable in India

For a Hong Kong resident, gains on Indian company shares are taxable in India under Article 14(5), with no grandfathering or cut-off date. And gains on Indian mutual fund units, which are not shares and so fall into the residual Article 14(6), are also taxable in India, because that clause preserves India's right to tax under its own law.

So there is no version of the units-are-not-shares argument that gets you out of Indian tax here. Whatever you hold, Indian shares or Indian funds, the gain is India's to tax.

You are taxed once, in India, at the normal rates

The one piece of good news is that there is no double tax. Hong Kong has no capital gains tax of its own, confirmed by the treaty itself, which lists only profits tax, salaries tax and property tax as Hong Kong's covered taxes. So your Indian gain is taxed once, in India, and Hong Kong adds nothing.

The Indian rate depends on what you sell. Long-term gains on listed shares and equity mutual funds are 12.5% above the yearly exemption, without indexation; short-term gains on listed shares are 20%; other long-term gains are 12.5%. The fund house or broker deducts TDS under Section 195 when you sell, and you file an Indian return to settle the exact tax and reclaim any excess.

Where the treaty does help you

The treaty does not help on capital gains, but it does cut the tax on your Indian income. On dividends from Indian companies, the India-Hong Kong treaty caps the rate at 5%, well below the 20% India would otherwise withhold, and on interest it caps the rate at 10%. To get those rates you give the payer or its registrar a tax residency certificate and Form 10F before the relevant date, the same as for any treaty.

So the sensible plan for a Hong Kong resident is to accept that Indian gains are taxed in India and keep that tax correct and minimal, while using the treaty where it genuinely helps, on your dividends and interest.

What's involved

What the CA actually does

  1. 1

    Compute the Indian tax on your gains

    We work out the correct Indian tax on your share and fund sales, long or short term, so you pay the right amount and no more.

  2. 2

    Keep the withholding correct

    We make sure TDS on your sale is right, and apply for a lower-TDS certificate where it is over-withheld, so your cash is not tied up.

  3. 3

    Use the treaty where it helps

    We get your dividend rate down to 5% and interest to 10% with a tax residency certificate and Form 10F, which is where the Hong Kong treaty genuinely saves you tax.

  4. 4

    File and reclaim

    We file your Indian return to settle the gain and recover any excess TDS, with the treaty rates applied on your income.

What to have ready

Documents you'll typically need

  • Your Hong Kong tax residency certificate
  • Contract notes and fund statements for your sales
  • Dividend and interest statements
  • PAN and passport

References on this page

  • India-Hong Kong DTAA, Article 14 (capital gains)
  • Article 14(5) and 14(6)
  • India-Hong Kong DTAA, Article 10 (dividends 5%)
  • Section 195 (Section 393 from FY 2026-27)

Frequently asked questions

Common questions

No. The Singapore and UAE treaties have a residual clause that gives fund-unit gains to the country of residence only. The Hong Kong treaty's residual clause, Article 14(6), lets each country tax under its own law, so India can tax your Indian fund gains. The exemption simply is not in the Hong Kong treaty.

Yes. Article 14(5) of the India-Hong Kong treaty lets India tax gains on Indian company shares, with no grandfathering or cut-off. So both shares and fund units are taxable in India for a Hong Kong resident.

No. Hong Kong has no capital gains tax, so your Indian gain is taxed once, in India, at the normal rates. There is no double tax, but there is also no treaty escape from the Indian tax, unlike Singapore.

It depends on the asset. Long-term gains on listed shares and equity funds are 12.5% above the yearly exemption without indexation, short-term listed-share gains are 20%, and other long-term gains are 12.5%, all plus surcharge and cess. TDS is deducted on sale and you file to settle the exact figure.

Yes, on income rather than gains. It caps Indian tax on your dividends at 5% and on interest at 10%, well below the default withholding, if you give the payer a tax residency certificate and Form 10F. So use the treaty on your dividends and interest, not on your capital gains.

The exceptions that change the answer

Where the general rule stops applying to you

Every rule below has a carve-out, a cut-off date or a condition that flips the answer. These are the ones that decide real cases.

Treaty rate on Indian dividends

Right now: Domestic rate 20% plus surcharge and cess; most treaties cap it at 10-15% under Article 10

Where it works differently

A TRC and Form 10F are furnished to the registrar or company
The treaty rate applies at source. Without them the full 20% plus surcharge and cess is deducted and you recover it by filing.
s.90(4) and (5).
The exact rate matters
It is per treaty, not a single number. Check the country entry. Some treaties are 10%, some 15%, and Italy's dividend article can be WORSE than the domestic rate.
Never quote one figure across countries.
Claiming the treaty rate
The s.115A(5) filing exemption is lost, so an Indian return becomes necessary.
That relief needs TDS at not less than the s.115A rate.

Commonly got wrong

  • The DTAA rate on dividends is 10%. It varies by treaty. Quoting one number across countries is wrong, and at least one treaty is worse than domestic law.Check your country's Article 10 rate, commonly 10% or 15%, against 20% plus surcharge and cess under domestic law.

Related

If this matched your situation, these go further

Are your Indian mutual fund gains taxable in India if you live in Singapore?Are your Indian mutual fund gains taxable in India if you live in the UAE?Getting the treaty rate on your Indian dividends instead of a flat 20%DTAA TDS recoveryStocks / equity redemption coordinationDTAA rate lookupCapital gains calculator

Selling Indian shares or funds from Hong Kong?

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