What is the difference between Section 90 and 90A?

One other point that helped me was understanding that Section 90A isn't the section you use simply because there is no DTAA.

That's actually where Section 91 comes into the picture. The Income Tax Department's guidance says unilateral relief is available under Section 91 where tax has been paid in a country or specified territory with which India does not have a DTAA.

Section 90A is a separate mechanism for adopting agreements between specified associations in India and specified associations in specified territories outside India. The Central Government has to notify the relevant arrangement.

So if you're an NRI asking about U.S. income, for example, I wouldn't start by asking "90 or 90A?" I'd start with:

1. Where am I a tax resident?
2. Where was the income earned?
3. Is there an applicable India tax treaty?
4. What does the relevant DTAA say about that particular type of income?
5. What relief or foreign tax credit mechanism applies?

The section number alone doesn't tell you how much tax you'll ultimately pay.

I initially thought Section 90A was basically a backup version of Section 90, but there is a specific legal distinction.

Under Section 90A, a "specified association" in India can agree with a specified association in a specified territory outside India. The Central Government can then notify provisions for adopting and implementing that agreement. The Act defines a specified association broadly as an institution, association, or body functioning under the relevant law and notified for Section 90A purposes.

That's quite different from Section 90, where the Central Government itself agrees with the government of another country or specified territory.

Another similarity is that both provisions can provide relief from double taxation.

Both can also involve a rule under which the Income Tax Act provisions apply to the extent they are more beneficial to the taxpayer where the relevant agreement applies.

For a normal NRI filing an Indian tax return, I'd first identify whether India has a DTAA with the country where the person is tax resident and then look at the relevant treaty provisions. I wouldn't choose Section 90A simply because the taxpayer lives outside India.

The easiest way I understood it is that Section 90 is the normal provision for tax agreements between the Government of India and the government of another country.

Section 90 allows the Central Government to enter into agreements with the government of a foreign country for things such as relief from double taxation, avoidance of double taxation, exchange of information, and recovery of tax.

Section 90A is different because it deals with an agreement between a specified association in India and a specified association in a specified territory outside India, which the Central Government can adopt and implement through notification.

So I wouldn't describe 90A simply as "DTAA where there is no treaty." That's not really what it is.

For an ordinary individual dealing with a standard India-U.S., India-U.K., India-Canada, etc. tax treaty, Section 90 is generally the provision you'll see referenced.

The Income Tax Department itself explains that relief under a DTAA can be available under Section 90 or Section 90A, while unilateral relief where no DTAA exists is dealt with separately under Section 91.

So the three-way distinction helped me:

Section 90: Government-to-government agreement.

Section 90A: Specified association-to-association agreement adopted by the Central Government.

Section 91: Unilateral relief when there is no DTAA.

That's how I would remember it.

I had rental income in India while living in Canada, and my chartered accountant explained it in a fairly simple way.

He said that Section 90 covers tax relief where India has entered into an agreement with another country's government to avoid double taxation.

Section 90A, on the other hand, covers agreements made with specified associations in certain territories outside India. It's not something most individual taxpayers encounter during routine NRI tax filing.

That explanation made it much easier for me to understand why Section 90 is mentioned much more often in DTAA guides.

I looked into this while living in the UK. My understanding is that Section 90A is different because it relates to agreements between the Indian Government and specified associations in another country rather than a DTAA directly signed between two governments.

For most NRIs claiming benefits under a regular DTAA with countries like the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, or the UAE, Section 90 is the provision that's commonly referred to.

I never had to specifically claim anything under Section 90A, but I came across it while reading the Income Tax Act. It's definitely a less commonly discussed provision.