What are the types of NRI account and FAQs around it?

Sales Proceeds on Primary Market, IPO, ESOP, Bonus etc. can only be credited in respective saving account only.

Types of Savings account:

• Non-Resident External (NRE) Savings Account
• Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) Saving Account

A NRE bank account is Non-Resident External Account. Since it is an external Account, any monies lying in NRE account can be taken outside the country or in other words, the monies lying in NRE account are fully repatriable. This money can be converted into any foreign currency at the behest of the account holder and can be remitted outside the country. Money can be freely transferred from NRE account to NRO account.

Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) is a scheme of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) (defined in Schedule 3 of Foreign Exchange Management Act 2000) through which NRIs and PIOs can purchase and sell shares and convertible debentures of Indian companies on a recognized stock exchange in India by routing all such purchase/sale transactions through their account held with a Designated Bank Branch.

Reserve Bank has authorized a few branches of few banks to conduct the business under Portfolio Investment Scheme on behalf of NRIs. These branches are the main branches of major commercial banks. NRIs will have to route their applications through any of the designated bank branches that have authorization from Reserve Bank.

Any NRI or a PIO wanting to trade/make fresh investments in the Indian Equity Secondary Market, needs and must have one PINS account with only one designated bank in India. Notes:

PINS account is applicable only for NRIs and not for resident Indians. It is only for trading in Indian markets and not in any other foreign markets It is applicable only for equity trades and not for Mutual fund investments.

No, any NRI or a PIO can have only one PINS account in India. Say for example if he is having a PINS account with X bank and he wants to shift to Kotak Bank, then he has to close the PINS account there and open a PINS account with Kotak Bank.

NRI should have a separate bank account exclusively for PINS purposes. Transactions relating to their personal banking as well as on account of transactions relating to shares acquired other than under PINS including IPOs should be routed in his savings bank account.

NRIs can maintain two types of account i.e. Non-Resident (External) Rupee Accounts (NRE Accounts) and Ordinary Non-Resident Rupee Accounts (NRO Accounts).

Yes. Investment can be made on repatriation as well as non-repatriation basis. However, an NRI will have to open NRE account as well as NRO account with designated bank branch as the sale proceeds of non-repatriation investment can only be credited to NRO account.

The repatriation of the sale proceeds, net of taxes, are allowed if the original purchase was made on repatriation basis and such investments were made out of funds from NRE account or by means of remittance from abroad.

Yes. An NRI can purchase up to a maximum of 5% of the aggregate paid up capital of the company (equity as well as preference capital) or the aggregate paid up value of each series of convertible debentures as the case may be. For the purpose of this ceiling, investment under the Portfolio Investment Scheme on repatriation as well as non-repatriation basis will be clubbed together.

There is an overall ceiling of 10% of paid-up equity share capital of the company/paid-up value of each series of convertible debentures for purchase by all NRIs/OCBs put together. The overall ceiling can be raised if the company concerned passes a special resolution to that effect in its general body meeting.

For transactions to be covered under PINS it need to satisfy two conditions:

1. Purchase from Indian Equity Secondary market

2. As an NRI following transactions are allowed:

   1. Fresh purchase from the secondary market as an NRI
   2. Sale of shares, which were bought under PINS

Following transactions are not allowed or are not covered under PINS:

1. Sale of shares, which were not bought under PINS. Like: Gifts, subscription to IPOs or shares bought as resident Indian, or received in bonus.

2. Fresh subscription for the IPOs as an NRI

3. Investment in Mutual Funds

Examples:

• Individual 'A' has bought some shares when he was resident Indian. Now he has become an NRI, can he sell these shares under PINS?

Since these shares were not bought by A under PINS (as they were acquired when he was a resident Indian), these shares cannot be sold under PINS.

• 'A' has bought some shares under PINS, now he has gifted those shares to 'B', who is also an NRI. Can 'B' sell these shares under PINS?

Although these shares were purchased under PINS, but for B still these shares are received as gift, so B can not sell these shares under PINS.

Yes; money can be freely transferred from NRE account to NRO account.

No, money cannot be transferred from NRO account to NRE account. Money even by error if transferred from NRE account to NRO account, it cannot be transferred back to NRE account.

Non-PINS is an account for which the transactions are not reported to RBI. This account takes care of selling of all those shares which are not allowed under PINS. Shares acquired under IPO or received as gift or bought as resident Indian can be sold under Non-PINS account.

Demat refers to Dematerialization. Demat Account is essentially used for holding shares. In a transaction, if a purchase transaction is punched in and the order is successfully executed at the exchange the demat account is credited by the said number of shares and in case of a sell order the Demat account is debited with the said number of shares.

NRI Demataccounts : Features

1. Demat account can be held jointly or singly as per the preference of the customer.

2. Nomination facility is provided on the Demat accounts.

3.Demat account helps to maintain the transactions details such as the date of purchase; cost of the transaction; selling price of the transaction etc

Dematerialization is the process of converting the securities held in physical form (certificates) to an equivalent number of securities in electronic form and crediting the same to the investor's demat account. Dematerialized securities do not have any certificate numbers or distinctive numbers and are dealt only in quantity i.e. the securities are fungible.

Dematerialization of your holdings is not mandatory. You can hold your securities either in demat form or in physical form. You can also keep part of your holdings (in the same scrip) in demat form & part in physical form. However, a selected list of securities announced by SEBI can be traded only in demat form in the stock exchanges.

NRI/PIO can open a demat account with any Depository Participant [DP] of NSDL. The NRI/PIO needs to mention the type [' NRI' as compared to ' Resident'] and the sub-type ['Repatriable' or 'Non-Repatriable'] in the account opening form collected from the DP.

No permission is required from RBI to open a demat account. However, credits and debits from demat account may require general or specific permissions as the case may be, from designated banks.

No. An NRI must open separate demat accounts for holding -repatriable' and 'non-repatriable' securities.

No. Securities received against investments under 'Foreign Direct Investment scheme (FDI)', 'Portfolio Investment scheme (PIS)' and 'Scheme for Investment' on non - repatriation basis have to be credited into separate demat accounts. Investment under PIS could be on repatriation or non - repatriation basis. Investment under FDI scheme is on repatriation .

Yes. For the purpose of determining ownership of holding, the first holder is taken into account. Hence, even though other joint holders may be persons resident in India, they can jointly open a NRO account.

Yes.

Client submits a Demateralization Request Form (DRF) form along with the physical share certificate to thebackoffice/ DP (Depository Participient) who in turn forwards it to the Registrar & Transfer agent for confirmation from the company. After the confirmation is received the client a/c is credited.

No special permission is required. Holding securities in demat only constitutes change in form and does not need any special permission. However, only those physical securities which already have the status as NR - Repatriable / NR- Non-Repatriable can be dematerialised in the corresponding Depository Accounts. Please keep a record of all your shares certificates and a verified copy of your share certificate and DRF form with you, while submitting the originals for dematerialization.

No. Each NRI has to select one branch for the purpose of investment under Portfolio Investment Scheme.

You can dematerialise only those certificates that are already registered in your name and are in the list of securities admitted for dematerialisation at NSDL.

Dematerialisation normally takes about 30 days.

Rematerialisation is a process of converting electronic holdings back into certificates. You will have to submit a Remat Request Form(RRF) to the depository participant (DP) who generate a RRN and will forward the request to the registrar. The Registrar will print the certificate and forward it to the investor.

The relevant company obtains the details of beneficiary holders and their holdings from NSDL. The payment to the investors will be made by the company through the ECS (Electronic Clearing Service) facility or by issuing warrants on which your bank account details are printed. The bank account details will be those which you would have mentioned in your account opening form or changed thereafter.

The relevant company obtains the details of beneficiary holders and their holdings from NSDL. Your entitlement will be credited by the company directly in your NSDL depository participant (DP) account.

The issuer Registrar and Transfer (R&T) agent for bonus/rights issue would send an allotment advice to the investor and the depository participant (DP) would send a transaction statement showing credit into his account. The investor can confirm his entitlement by comparing the quantity shown in the advice and statement of transaction given by his DP.

The system provides the facility to freeze the depository participant (DP) accounts for any debits or for both, debits and credits. In an account which is "freezed for debits", no debits will be permitted from the account, till the time it is unfrozen.

Shares, scrips, stocks, bonds debentures, debenture stock or other marketable securities of similar nature of any incorporated company or body corporate including underlying shares of American Depository Reciepts(ADRs) and Global Depository Reciepts(GDRs). Units of mutual funds, rights under collective investment schemes and venture capital funds, commercial paper, certificate of deposit, securitised debt, money market instruments and unlisted securities are the securities available for dematerialisation.

The investor should note that he can convert physical form of securities into book entry form in NSDL depository system only if the company which has issued the securities has entered into an agreement with NSDL to offer demat facility.

You can get started with the account once the following formalities are completed:

1. NRI- Trinity Account - A combination of Banking, Demat and Trading accounts, these will be provided to you by Kotak Neo, so that your online trading experience is seamless and effortless.

2. Request Letter for PINS permission

Note: We will open your PINS account and Savings account with Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited.

1. An NRI should open a new bank account (NRE/NRO) with designated bank branch, which is approved by RBI (Reserve Bank of India) for this purpose.

2. He should apply for a general approval for investment in Indian Stock Market through his designated bank branch.

3. He should open a Demat Account with a Depository Participant to hold his shares.

4. He needs to register with a broker to execute his buy/sell orders on the stock exchange(s).

5. Request Letter for PINS permission

As per section 6(5) of FEMA, NRI can continue to hold the securities, which he/she had purchased as a resident Indian, even after he/she has become a non-resident Indian, on a non-repatriable basis.

Yes. It is the responsibility of the NRI to inform the change of status to the designated bank branch, through which the investor had made the investments in Portfolio Investment Scheme and the DP with whom he/she has opened the demat account. Subsequently, a new demat account in the resident status will have to be opened, securities should be transferred from the NRI demat account to resident account and then close the NRI demat account.

NRIs are permitted to make direct investments in shares/ debentures of Indian companies/ units of mutual fund. They are also permitted to make portfolio investments i.e. purchase of share / debentures of Indian Companies through stock exchange. These facilities are granted both on repatriation and non-repatriation basis.

Yes. The issuing company is required to issue shares to NRI on the basis of specific or general permission from GoI/RBI. Therefore, individual NRI need not obtain any permission.

No. The Same can applied directly by customer with the necessary forms filled and sent to the registrar of the companies. The Broker does not play any role in this process.

No.

NRIs / PIOs can purchase / sell shares / convertible debentures of Indian companies on Stock Exchanges under the Portfolio Investment Scheme. The rules relating to this scheme are as given below:

1. These trades can be done only through a registered broker on a recognized stock exchange.

2. NRI shall designate a branch of an authorized dealer and route all his/her transactions through this branch of the authorized dealer.

3. NRI takes delivery of the shares purchased and gives delivery of shares sold.

4. NRI shall abide by the directions given by RBI/SEBI or such authority if the transaction results in the breach of ceilings stipulated for NRI holding in the company/scheme.

The sale of shares will be subject to payment of applicable taxes.

As per the regulations NRIs are allowed to invest up to a certain percentage of the total paid up capital of the company by directly subscribing to the equity/convertible debentures of the company either though a public offering made by the company or through private placements on one to one basis. Regulations provide for different ceilings on such investments based on the industry to which the company belongs and also the nature of investments (repatriation / non-repatriation basis).

No. NRIs do not require any permission to invest though Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) or Private placements. In such cases, the Issuing company should comply with all necessary regulations for issuing securities to a person resident outside India.

No. NRIs can sell such shares/debentures on the Exchange without any approval. However, while seeking the credit of sale proceeds to NRE/NRO account, the bank should be provided with the details regarding date of allotment and cost of acquisition to calculate the taxes, if any.