Directorate of Income-tax (Systems) had issued a notification which exempts non-resident taxpayers who are not having PAN and not required to have PAN as per the law from mandatory e-filing of Form 10F. In this regard, we thought we would provide you with a quick summary of impact of the notification as follows:

• Rule 21AB mandates filing of Form 10F by non-resident taxpayers availing the benefit of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (‘DTAA’) under section 90 of Income Tax Act, 1961 (‘ITL’). DGIT(Systems) Notification No. 3 of 2022 had mandated e-filing of Form 10F;
• Non-residents who are not required to have PAN as per provisions of ITL faced the difficulty of filing the Form 10F online as the same required PAN for registration in the e-filing portal;
• Considering practical challenges being faced by non-resident taxpayers not having PAN and with a view to mitigate genuine hardship of such taxpayers, Directorate of Income-tax (Systems) by notification F.No.DGIT(S)-ADG(S)-3/e-Filing Notification/ Forms/2022/9227 dated December 12, 2022 exempted non-resident taxpayers who are not having PAN and not required to have PAN as per the ITL from mandatory e-filing of Form 10F until Mar 31, 2023;
• This clarifies that such persons may file Form 10F in manual form as was being done prior to issuance of the DGIT(Systems) Notification No. 3 of 2022.