Families in Kuwait can claim compensation before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in India for death or injury in a road accident, chiefly from the vehicle's insurer. Claimants sign the petition and affidavits through the Kuwaiti attestation chain or at the Embassy of India. Where the deceased worked in Kuwait, the salary can form the basis of compensation if properly proved. File within six months of the accident.
- Document route
- Kuwaiti Ministry of Justice notarisation, Kuwait Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation, then Embassy of India attestation
- Time difference
- IST is 2h30 ahead of Kuwait time all year (no daylight saving)
- Law
- Motor Vehicles Act 1988, as amended in 2019
- Forum
- Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT)
Accident Compensation Claims from Kuwait: how it works
Our team gathers the FIR, site plan, post-mortem or hospital records and the insurer's details. Kuwaiti earnings are proved with the employment contract, a salary certificate, bank statements showing salary credits and, where relevant, Public Authority for Manpower records, attested in Kuwait. With no personal tax filings in Kuwait, these employer and bank records carry the weight. The tribunal then calculates the family's loss of dependency using the age-based multiplier method set by the Supreme Court.
We normally file at the tribunal covering the accident location, where the investigating officer and witnesses can be summoned. Claimants in Kuwait can be examined by video where allowed, and a relative at home can speak to the accident itself. Insurers often settle at Lok Adalat once the evidence is filed. The amount is deposited, released to the claimants into their NRO accounts and can then be remitted to Kuwait. Any share kept in fixed deposit for a minor child is released when the child turns eighteen, and we apply for it at that time.
What clients in Kuwait should know
- Ask the Kuwaiti employer for a salary certificate listing basic salary and all allowances.
- Compensation is not income, though interest added by the tribunal is taxable in India.
- Under section 166(3), the claim should be filed within six months of the accident.
Step by step from Kuwait
Video consultation
A call at a time that suits Kuwait, after we have read your documents.
Documents signed in Kuwait
Kuwaiti Ministry of Justice notarisation, Kuwait Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation, then Embassy of India attestation
Work in India
Our team files, appears and follows up in India, and shares scans of everything filed.
Result and handover
Certified copies and originals are couriered to you in Kuwait where needed.
The full guide
This page covers what changes when you are in Kuwait. For the law, the documents and the step-by-step procedure, read our main page on Accident Compensation Claims, or see all services for clients in Kuwait and the Disputes & Enforcement practice area.
Questions from clients in Kuwait
My son died in an accident in Andhra Pradesh. We live in Kuwait. Can we claim?
Yes. As legal heirs, you can claim from Kuwait through attested documents.
How is Kuwaiti salary proved?
Through the contract, salary certificate, bank statements and attested employer or manpower records.
Can compensation be sent to Kuwait?
Yes, from the NRO account within the annual limit.