From Kuwait
Kuwait is home to 1,036,389 non-resident Indians, the fifth-largest number in any country, working in healthcare, engineering, architecture, education and business. The bilateral investment treaty ended in 2018, and two rounds of negotiation on a new one have taken place, the second on 1 to 3 July 2025. This page sets out how India taxes a salary earned in Kuwait and interest on a Non-Resident (External) account, what a Kuwaiti business or fund meets on investing in India, and the practical facts of working across the border.
At a glance
- Investment into India
- USD 99 million
- Cumulative foreign direct investment into India from Kuwait, April 2000 to March 2026: USD 99 million, 0.01 per cent.
- Source 1
- Indians living there
- 1,036,389
- 1,036,389 non-resident Indians live there, the fifth-largest number in any country.
- Overseas Indians in all, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin together: 1,038,745.
- Source 2
India and Kuwait: the legal framework
The investment treaty ended in 2018 and negotiations on a new one have begun; tax has its own agreement, and no social security agreement is listed.
| Area | Agreement | Status | What the source records | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investment protection | India-Kuwait Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement | Terminated 2018 | Signed 27 November 2001, in force from 28 June 2003; ended in 2018. Two rounds of negotiations for a new bilateral investment treaty have taken place, the second on 1 to 3 July 2025. | 3, 4 |
| Double taxation | India-Kuwait agreement for the avoidance of double taxation Its page in Law | In force | Signed 15 June 2006; a note on this site applies its Article 4 to an Indian employee in Kuwait. | 5, 6 |
| Social security | Social security agreement | None listed | Kuwait is not among the partner countries on the list. | 7 |
| Documents: the Apostille Convention | Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, 1961 | Does not apply | The status table does not list Kuwait among the contracting States. | 8 |
Where Kuwait invests in India
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and Kuwait names Kuwaiti investment in India in these fields. 10
- Capital markets
- Logistics and warehousing
- Hospitality
Sector pages on this site
- Infrastructure and projects
Named in the brief: Logistics and warehousing
Legal work on capital projects and the resources that feed them: land acquisition and compensation, environmental clearance, statutory licensing, EPC and concession disputes, power sector regulation and mining.
- Financial services
Named in the brief: Capital markets
Legal work for lenders, listed companies, funds and financial technology businesses: SARFAESI and DRT enforcement, insolvency, SEBI proceedings, AIF and FEMA compliance, and the RBI licensing regimes that govern payments and digital lending.
Where the two countries are working together
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and Kuwait, September 2026, names among the fields of cooperation hydrocarbons, manpower and health. 11
Questions from Kuwait
A business from Kuwait
Can a company incorporated in Kuwait invest in an Indian company without approval?
The Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 set the routes and the conditions on which a person resident outside India may acquire equity instruments of an Indian company.
They allow it without prior approval where the sector is on the automatic route and the sectoral cap is not crossed, at a price not below fair value, with Form FC-GPR (Foreign Currency-Gross Provisional Return) filed with the Reserve Bank of India within thirty days of issue, as the note on a United States company sets out.
Can a company from Kuwait have a presence in India without a subsidiary?
A company incorporated outside India can seek a liaison, branch or project office, approved by an Authorised Dealer Category-I bank under the Reserve Bank of India’s Master Direction of 1 January 2016, as the note on a German company sets out.
A branch needs five years of profit and a net worth of USD 100,000, a liaison office three years and USD 50,000.
Is the income of a sovereign wealth fund from Kuwait on Indian infrastructure taxed?
Schedule V of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (Table, Sl. No. 7) leaves out of total income the dividend, interest and long-term capital gains that a notified foreign pension fund or sovereign wealth fund earns on investment in specified Indian infrastructure vehicles, made on or after 1 April 2020 and on or before 31 March 2030 and held for at least three years.
The fund must be named in a Central Government notification.
Can a sovereign fund co-invest alongside an Indian alternative investment fund?
Since 9 September 2025 a Category I or Category II alternative investment fund may offer its accredited investors co-investment in a portfolio company through a separate scheme of its own, capped at three times what the investor put into the same company through the main scheme.
Entities established, owned or controlled by a foreign government, including central banks and sovereign wealth funds, are outside the cap.
Indians living in Kuwait
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and Kuwait, September 2026, records Indian nationals as the largest expatriate community in Kuwait, working in healthcare, engineering, architecture, education and business. 11
Is a salary earned in Kuwait taxed in India?
A citizen of India employed in Kuwait, on the premise that it does not tax the salary, is a non-resident unless a day test in section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 or the deemed-residence rule in section 6(7) applies.
A non-resident is charged only on income received or accruing in India, so a salary and an end-of-service benefit earned and paid abroad stay outside the charge.
Is interest on a Non-Resident (External) account taxed in India?
Interest on the account, the NRE account, is excluded under Schedule IV of the Income-tax Act, 2025 because the holder is resident outside India under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.
When is an Indian citizen living in Kuwait resident in India for tax?
Under section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, on 182 days or more in India in a tax year, or on 60 days plus 365 days in the four years before; a citizen visiting from abroad is outside the 60-day test unless income other than from foreign sources exceeds INR 15 lakh, when the test runs at 120 days.
A citizen with such income above INR 15 lakh who is liable to tax in no other country is deemed resident, but only as a person not ordinarily resident.
Selling a flat in India while living in Kuwait: the tax and the money
For a sale in the tax year that began on 1 April 2026, the buyer withholds tax under section 393(2) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, and a non-resident’s long-term gain on a flat is taxed at 12.5 per cent under section 197.
Remitting a Non-Resident (Ordinary) Rupee account balance is limited to USD 1 million a financial year without the Reserve Bank of India’s prior approval.
Can a family member living abroad inherit property in India?
Under section 6(5) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and rule 24(c) of the Non-debt Instruments Rules, a non-resident Indian or an overseas citizen of India may inherit any immovable property in India, agricultural land included.
An authorised dealer bank may remit inherited assets and their sale proceeds abroad up to USD 1 million a financial year; whether probate or a succession certificate is also needed turns on the asset.
Signing a power of attorney in Kuwait for property in India
Two routes lead to a document Indian authorities will take: signature before an Indian consular officer, or signature before a foreign notary followed by an apostille under the Hague Convention of 1961.
The status table of the Hague Conference does not list Kuwait, so the Convention does not apply to a document signed there.
Practice areas and counsel for this corridor
Practice areas
- Transaction advisory
Structuring, documentation and due diligence for acquisitions, joint ventures and restructuring transactions under Indian law.
- RERA and real estate
Advisory and representation on real estate regulatory compliance, project registration and disputes under the RERA framework.
- Employment
Advisory and representation on employment disputes, disciplinary process, industrial relations and labour code compliance.
- Taxation and fiscal
Advisory and litigation on goods and services tax, direct tax and indirect tax disputes before departmental and appellate forums.
Advocates who write the notes on Kuwait
Advocates who write the notes for the region, The Gulf
Adv. Adithya Karthik KPartner
Adv. Harsha Swaroop PPartner
- An NRI or OCI cardholder selling a flat in India and sending the money abroad: the rules from 1 April 2026
- When an Indian citizen living abroad is resident in India for tax: the day tests, the INR 15 lakh line and not ordinarily resident
- An heir living abroad can inherit property in India, but money leaves the country only up to USD 1 million a year without Reserve Bank approval
Working across the border
The practice advises on Indian law. Where a matter turns on the law of another country it is referred to counsel qualified there, and the advice states which part rests on that referral.
Time difference
India Standard Time is five hours and thirty minutes ahead of UTC throughout the year.
- Kuwait City is two hours and thirty minutes behind Bengaluru.
- India and Kuwait do not observe daylight saving time, so the difference holds all year.
Instructions are taken between 07:00 and 21:00 India Standard Time (IST), Monday to Friday, as the offices page states. In Kuwait City that is 04:30 to 18:30.
Documents signed there
India is a party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, 1961, so a public document from another contracting State that carries an apostille issued by the competent authority there is accepted in India without further legalisation. The status table of the Hague Conference does not list Kuwait among the contracting States, so the Convention does not apply to a document signed there.
Offices
- Bengaluru
7th Floor, Raheja Towers, East Wing, 26/27 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Craig Park Layout, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560001
+91 76765 68787
- Mumbai
Unit No. 4, 3rd Floor, Inspire BKC, Village Kolekalyan, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051
- New Delhi
L29 to L34, First Floor, Connaught Place, New Delhi, Delhi 110001
Notes for readers there
Notes on Kuwait
From the region: The Gulf
- What protects a Qatari investor in India: the 1999 treaty's ten-year tail, no new treaty yet, and the tax rules
- An NRI or OCI cardholder selling a flat in India and sending the money abroad: the rules from 1 April 2026
- When an Indian citizen living abroad is resident in India for tax: the day tests, the INR 15 lakh line and not ordinarily resident
- An heir living abroad can inherit property in India, but money leaves the country only up to USD 1 million a year without Reserve Bank approval
- An Indian employee in Oman after the personal income tax: residence in India, deemed residence and treaty credit
- What the India-UAE Bilateral Investment Treaty protects for a UAE investor in India, and what it leaves out
- A power of attorney signed abroad to sell a flat in Bengaluru: the route, the stamp clock and the limit
- A Put Option Against a Resident: What Makes It Enforceable, and at What Price
Sources
- Official pageDepartment for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade: Quarterly Fact Sheet on Foreign Direct Investment inflow, April 2000 to March 2026dpiit.gov.in
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs: Population of Overseas Indians, January 2026mea.gov.in
- Official pageDepartment of Economic Affairs, Bilateral Investment Treaties register, row 'Kuwait' (columns Date of Agreement / Enforcement / Termination)dea.gov.in
- Official pageMEA, India-Kuwait Bilateral Relations, para 19mea.gov.in
- Official pageAgreement between India and Kuwait for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, signed 15 June 2006, with Protocol, Ministry of External Affairs treaty database copymea.gov.in
- Note on this siteNote on this site: An Indian employee in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait where salary is untaxed: residence, salary, end-of-service pay and NRE interest under Indian tax law
- Official pageEPFO, International Workers - Social Security Agreements: 20 partner countries listed, Kuwait not among themepfo.gov.in
- ConventionHague Conference on Private International Law: status table of the Apostille Convention, 1961hcch.net
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs: Attestation and Apostillemea.gov.in
- Official pageMEA, India-Kuwait Bilateral Relations, para 18 (examples named by the brief, not a declared 'major sectors' list)mea.gov.in
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs, India-Kuwait bilateral brief, September 2026mea.gov.in
Limits of this page
Nothing on this page is advice, and nothing on it is a statement that any provision applies to a particular set of facts. It is not an offer of engagement. Reading it creates no advocate-client relationship.
Each agreement is stated as its official source records it: a status only where the source states it, and an agreement no verified source records is left out rather than guessed. Each answer on this page restates a note, a law page or a practice page on this site, which carries the detail and its sources.