Hi guys,
There is a toll free helpline given in Incometax India Website.
1800 180 1961
Works between 9AM to 6PM.
Anyone can try tomorrow and tell if you get any info.
There is also an email id
webmanager@incometax.gov.in
I have sent an email asking clarification.
P.S. Dont know how knowledgeable guys in that dept are, because they wouldnt accept my passport as relevant ID card for reissuing PAN card because they say my name in it is in reverse (fathers name first )
Common sense say PAN is sufficient, My tax consultant also says the same… but… hehe!
While doing internet search, the blogs and discussions made by Indians who make similar earnings from USA doesn’t seems to settle with PAN number for their case. Lot of old discussions made few years back mostly revolves around how to get ITIN or EIN. May be right now with Envato’s case, the requirements possibly relaxed to foreign tax ID. hmm…
Aadhaar Card is not required.
If you have no passport then you may send original Driving License and Voter Card to IRS Certified Acceptance Agent’s office(in India).
I’ve been playing with the Tax forms recently. and found that when changing country, There’s a box below containing tax treaty info also changing. That means, envato is calculating % based on the country. There’s no tool available for envato to check whether a Tax ID is valid or not.
So, It’s not a problem if you put your identity card or your mobile number (Ofcouse you can enter PAN card also) Envato will deduct only 15% if India is chosen.
The beneficial owner is claiming the provisions of Article 8(1) of the treaty identified above to claim a 0% rate of withholding.
Now ThemeFusion will sky rocket… No Doubt…
You have until January 1st, 2016 to fill out the form, however, we
encourage all authors to complete their form as soon as possible to make
they’re ready well ahead of the deadline and avoid any unnecessary
withholding. Starting early is particularly important if you don’t have a
Foreign Tax ID and need to apply for an ITIN - the IRS estimates the
application process can take between 4 and 6 weeks. If you are concerned
you may miss the deadline, you should complete a W-8 form with whatever
information you have, and then resubmit a fresh one when you have an
ITIN (to prevent the US presumption rule kicking in and Backup
Withholding applying).
After January 1st, authors who have not completed a W-8 form will be
presumed to be a US author who has not completed a form, and we will
apply Backup Withholding tax of 28% on all sales. We will remit this tax
to the IRS frequently, and once it’s gone, you will need to take it up
with the IRS, and we won’t be able to assist much.
So if I'm not wrong, for now we can fill the form with PAN, as getting other number well within time is nearly impossible.
Called the toll free number of Indian Income Tax Office. As expected the lady who answered could not understand what I was asking, Made me repeat my lengthy Query twice and finally advised me to contact my local income tax office.
Got one more link from stackexchange which means PAN is correct for us
Yes PAN card seems good. Checked up on IRS website about instructions for filling W8-BEN
On Page 6
Instuctions for filling line 6 (Foreign Tax Id Number)
Line 6. If you are providing this Form W-8BEN to
document yourself with respect to a financial account that
you hold at a U.S. office of a financial institution, provide > the tax identifying number (TIN) issued to you by your > jurisdiction of tax residence unless:
You have not been issued a TIN, or
The jurisdiction does not issue TINs
Yes, I also going to enter PAN as Foreign Tax ID. However going to complete the form just before November 31st to make sure any changes happen in the universe!