The petition filed by the Association of Resident Overseas Citizens of India and Families and one Dr Narayan Hulse, through advocate Anindita Mitra, stated that subjecting OCIs to FEMA norms when they have resided in the country for long and pay tax on their global income in India, is arbitrary and violative of right to equality.
Accordingly, exemption was sought from Regulation 2(d) of the 2018 Foreign Exchange Management (Acquisition and Transfer of Immovable Property in India) Regulations, for resident OCIs who are permanently domiciled in the country.
The said provision mandates that the Regulations would be applicable to OCIs.
OCIs have been defined in the Regulations as a person residing outside India, who is registered as so under Section 7(A) of the 1955 Citizenship Act.
The petitioners contended that the the provision by making FEMA applicable to resident OCIs, deprive them of enjoying guarantees on the basis of which they took up domicile in India.
“The object and effect of the impugned notification is to deprive Resident OCIs from enjoying those guarantees on the basis of which such Resident OCIs had adopted permanent domicile of India, thereby directly and substantially affecting the Resident OCIs’ financial and educational opportunities in this country … has the inevitable effect of depriving the Resident OCIs of their livelihood, their legitimate business and occupation,” it was submitted.
Source: Barandbench
