To curb large foreign exchange outflows, the Union Budget may bring overseas credit card spending above Rs 7 lakh under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS).
The credit card spend thus is likely to be brought under 20 percent tax collected at source (TCS).
Under the RBI’s LRS scheme, an Indian resident can transfer funds of up to USD 250,000 in a financial year outside India.
The objective is to discourage excessive remittances under the LRS.
Currently, the expenditures using debit cards, forex cards, or other payment methods incur a 20 percent TCS once they surpass the Rs 7 lakh per person per financial year threshold.
In contrast the credit card transactions have been exempted from TCS under LRS rules.
Outward remittances under LRS reached $31.73 billion in 2023-24.
It is a 16.91 percent rise from $27.14 billion in the previous year.