120 Days Rule for High Income Indian Citizens/PIO [Sec 6(1)(c) - Twist]
## The 120-Day Rule for Indian Citizens / PIO with Income > ₹15 Lakh
For an Indian citizen or Person of Indian Origin (PIO) visiting India whose total income (other than from foreign sources) exceeds ₹15 lakh, an additional check applies:
### Two Ways Such Person Can Be a Resident
Test
Condition
Resulting Status
Normal (BC1)
Stays in India ≥ 182 days in the P.Y.
Resident — check Additional Conditions → can be ROR or RNOR
Special (Sec 6(1) Twist)
Stays in India 120 days or more in P.Y. AND365 days or more in last 4 P.Y.s
Resident — Always RNOR (no need to check Additional Conditions)
### What is 'Income from Foreign Source'?
Income which accrues or arises outside India — but shall NOT include:
1. Income deemed to accrue or arise in India under Section 9.
2. Income derived abroad from a business controlled from India.
3. Income derived abroad from a profession set up in India.
Hence, even if income is technically earned abroad, if it falls in any of these three exceptions, it counts toward the ₹15 lakh threshold.
Worked example
### Example 1
Example: Mr. P (Indian citizen, settled in UK) visits India for 130 days in P.Y. 2025-26 and stayed 400 days cumulatively in the preceding 4 P.Y.s. His Indian-source income = ₹20 lakh.
Solution:
Income (other than foreign source) > ₹15 lakh → 120-day twist applies.
130 days ≥ 120 AND 400 ≥ 365 → Resident.
Status = RNOR automatically (no need to check Additional Conditions).
### Example 2
Example: Same as above but his Indian-source income = ₹10 lakh. Then 120-day twist does NOT apply. He needs 182 days under BC1 (since he is a PIO visiting). 130 days < 182 → Non-Resident.
⚠️ Common exam mistakes
Forgetting that income from foreign source EXCLUDES Sec 9 income and India-controlled business/profession income.
Applying Additional Conditions in the 120-day case — the status is always RNOR automatically.
Forgetting that the threshold is computed on income other than foreign-source income, not on total world income.
Bare-Act text Explanation 1(b) read with Section 6(1) · Income-tax Act, 1961 · click to expand
Explanation 1(b): In case of an individual being a citizen of India, or a person of Indian origin… who, being outside India, comes on a visit to India in any previous year, the provisions of sub-clause (c) shall apply in relation to that year as if for the words 'sixty days' the words 'one hundred and eighty-two days' had been substituted, and in case of such person having total income, other than the income from foreign sources, exceeding ₹15 lakhs during the previous year, for the words 'sixty days' the words 'one hundred and twenty days' had been substituted.