From Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is home to 2,747,551 non-resident Indians, the second-largest number in any country, and the Saudi investors in India that the Ministry of External Affairs lists are in energy, steel, chemicals, food and the auto sector. The bilateral investment treaty was terminated on 1 August 2019, and the two States have no social security agreement. This page sets out how India taxes a salary earned in Saudi Arabia and interest on a Non-Resident (External) account, what a Saudi business or fund meets on investing in India, and the practical facts of working across the border.
At a glance
- Investment into India
- USD 3,316 million
- Cumulative foreign direct investment into India from Saudi Arabia, April 2000 to March 2026: USD 3,316 million, 0.42 per cent.
- Source 1
- Indians living there
- 2,747,551
- 2,747,551 non-resident Indians live there, the second-largest number in any country.
- Overseas Indians in all, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin together: 2,750,551.
- Source 2
- Investment treaty
- Terminated 1 August 2019
- India-Saudi Arabia Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement. Signed 25 January 2006, in force from 20 May 2008; terminated on 1 August 2019.
- Source 3
India and Saudi Arabia: the legal framework
The investment treaty was terminated in 2019; tax has its own convention, and no social security agreement is listed.
| Area | Agreement | Status | What the source records | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investment protection | India-Saudi Arabia Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement | Terminated 1 August 2019 | Signed 25 January 2006, in force from 20 May 2008; terminated on 1 August 2019. | 3 |
| Double taxation | India-Saudi Arabia Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation Its page in Law | In force | Signed 25 January 2006; a note on this site applies it to an Indian employee in Saudi Arabia. | 4, 5 |
| Social security | Social security agreement | None listed | Saudi Arabia is not among the partner countries on the list. | 6 |
| Documents: the Apostille Convention | Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, 1961 | Applies | The status table lists Saudi Arabia among the contracting States. | 7 |
Where Saudi Arabia invests in India
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and Saudi Arabia names these sectors for the Saudi investors in India it lists. 9
- Energy
- Steel
- Renewable energy
- Chemicals
- Food sector
- Auto sector
Sector pages on this site
- Manufacturing
Named in the brief: Steel; Chemicals; Food sector; Auto sector
Legal work for manufacturers and the trade that moves their output: incentive schemes and industrial licensing, technology transfer and IP, supply chain and carrier contracts, export control and customs.
- Infrastructure and projects
Named in the brief: Energy; Renewable energy
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.
Where the two countries are working together
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and Saudi Arabia, May 2026, names among the fields of cooperation energy, investment through the High Level Task Force on Investment and skills and labour cooperation. 10
Questions from Saudi Arabia
A business from Saudi Arabia
Can a company incorporated in Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi Arabia 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.
Does an Indian plant face a carbon emission target?
From 8 October 2025 the Greenhouse Gases Emission Intensity Target Rules, 2025 gave named plants in aluminium, cement, chlor-alkali and pulp and paper a binding target, and an amendment from 13 January 2026 added plants in secondary aluminium, refining, petrochemicals and textiles.
A plant that misses its target buys and surrenders carbon credit certificates for the gap; a shortfall left uncovered draws environmental compensation at twice the average traded price.
Indians living in Saudi Arabia
Is a salary earned in Saudi Arabia taxed in India?
A citizen of India employed in Saudi Arabia, 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 Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi Arabia: 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 Saudi Arabia 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 lists Saudi Arabia among the contracting States.
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 Saudi Arabia
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.
- Riyadh is two hours and thirty minutes behind Bengaluru.
- India and Saudi Arabia 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 Riyadh 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 lists Saudi Arabia among the contracting States.
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 Saudi Arabia
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 'Saudi Arabia' (columns Date of Agreement / Enforcement / Termination)dea.gov.in
- Official pageConvention between India and Saudi Arabia for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Tax Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, signed 25 January 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, Saudi Arabia 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 pageMinistry of External Affairs, India-Saudi Arabia bilateral brief, May 2026, para 09mea.gov.in
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs, India-Saudi Arabia bilateral brief, May 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.