ITR filing, Aug. 29 -- All merchant navy officials, who qualify as Non-Resident Indians (NRI) under the Income Tax Act in India, are exempt from paying taxes on their income.

A merchant navy personnel working under any company based in India, or abroad, is considered an NRI if they spend 182 days or more outside India in a financial year. In such cases, the salary earned for services rendered outside India and credited into a Non-Resident External (NRE) account is not taxable in India.

Therefore, one question is always there - do merchant navy officers need to file ITR? Experts say yes. Here's why

Even if salary from foreign ships is exempt, other sources of Indian income-such as rental income, capital gains, or NRO interest-are still ...