Nri deposit

FEMA Bank Deposits
Regulations

CA N.C. Hegde
14 December 2013

Person resident in India

www.simpletaxindia.net
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© 2013 Deloitte Haskins & Sells

Section 2(u) of FEMA Act
Person includes:
(i) an individual,
(ii) a Hindu undivided family,
(iii) a company,
(iv) a firm,
(v) an association of persons or a body of individuals, whether incorporated or not,
(vi) every artificial juridical person, not falling within any of the preceding subclauses, and
(vii) any agency, office or branch owned or controlled by such person

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Section 2(v) of FEMA Act
Person resident in India means:
(i) a person residing in India for more than one hundred and eighty-two days
during the course of the preceding financial year but does not include(A) a person who has gone out of India or who stays outside India, in either case(a) for or on taking up employment outside India, or
(b) for carrying on outside India a business or vocation outside India, or
(c) for any other purpose, in such circumstances as would indicate his intention to stay
outside India for an uncertain period;

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(B) a person who has come to or stays in India, in either case, otherwise than(a) for or on taking up employment in India, or
(b) for carrying on in India a business or vocation in India, or
(c) for any other purpose, in such circumstances as would indicate his intention to stay in
India for an uncertain period;

(ii) any person or body corporate registered or incorporated in India
(iii) an office, branch or agency in India owned or controlled by a person resident
outside India
(iv) an office, branch or agency outside India owned or controlled by a person
resident in India
“Person resident outside India" means a person who is not resident in India
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Illustrations
A person comes to India for taking a job on 1 December 2013. He has never been
to India before. What is the residential status under FEMA for FY 2013-14?
 Person resident in India
A person who is an Indian resident, takes up a job in the USA 1 November 2013.
What is the residential status under FEMA for FY 2013-14?
 Person resident outside India
A person has come to India on 1 June 2013 for medical treatment and stays for
150 days. What is the residential status under FEMA for FY 2013-14?
 Person resident outside India

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Non Resident Indian (NRI) &
Person of Indian Origin (PIO)

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NRI & POI
NRI

PIO

•

Indian Citizen or PIO

•

Person who has held Indian passport
previously

•

Person resident outside India
•

Who is presently holding another country’s
citizenship/ nationality

•

Holds an Indian Passport

i.e. he/she is holding foreign passport
•

Whose ancestor was an Indian national
and

•

Who is spouse of NRI or PIO

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Returning NRI & PIO
• Returning NRIs/PIOs may continue to hold, own, transfer or invest in foreign
currency, foreign security or any immovable property situated outside India, if
such currency, security or property was acquired, held or owned when resident
outside India
• The income and sale proceeds of assets held abroad need not be repatriated.

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Resident Foreign Currency Account
•

Returning NRIs /PIOs may open, hold and maintain with an authorised dealer in India a
Resident Foreign Currency (RFC) Account to transfer balances held in NRE/FCNR(B)
accounts.

•

Proceeds of assets held outside India at the time of return can be credited to RFC
account.

•

The funds in RFC accounts are free from all restrictions regarding utilization of foreign
currency balances including any restriction on investment in any form outside India.

•

RFC accounts can be maintained in the form of current or savings or term deposit
accounts, where the account holder is an individual and in the form of current or term
deposits in all other cases.

•

RFC accounts are permitted to be held jointly with the resident close relative(s) as defined
in the Companies Act, 1956 as joint holder (s) in their RFC bank account on ‘former or
survivor basis’. However, such resident Indian close relative, now being made eligible to
become joint account holder shall not be eligible to operate the account during the life time
of the resident account holder.

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Types of Bank Accounts

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Types of Bank Accounts
NRI & PIO can open, hold and maintain:
• Non-Resident Ordinary Rupee Account (NRO Account)
• Non-Resident (External) Rupee Account (NRE Account0
• Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) Account (FCNR Account)
Without permission of RBI
Through Authorized Dealer in India

Individual/entities of Bangladesh & Pakistan – Prior approval
of RBI
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Types of bank accounts
NRO

NRE

FCNR

Form

Savings, current,
recurring, fixed
deposit

Savings, current,
recurring, fixed
deposit

Term deposits of 1
to 5 years

Currency

Indian Rupee

Indian Rupee

Freely convertible
currency

Who can open

NRI or PIO jointly
with Resident

NRI or PIO himself NRI or PIO himself
(not through POA (not through POA
holder)
holder)

Repatriation of
principal

Limit per year of 1
million

Freely repatriable
without limit

Freely repatriable
without limit

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NRO Account

NRE Account

FCNR Account

Local payments,
remittance of
interest, rent,
pension etc.
outside India

Transfer to other
NRE Account,
investment in
shares, mutual
funds of Indian
Companies

Same as NRE
Account

Permissible credits Legitimate
earnings such as
interest, dividend

Sale proceeds of
FDI investments,
dividends etc

Same as NRE
Account

Taxability of
interest earned

Taxable

Not taxable

Not Taxable

Interest rate

As decided by
bank

Permissible debits

Within ceiling rate
of LIBOR/SWAP
rates plus 125
basis points

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NRO Account
Loans

NRE Account

FCNR Account

Loans to nonresidents account
holders and third
parties may be
granted in Rupees
against security of
deposits

Loans upto Rs.
100 lakhs to
depositors and
third parties may
be granted against
security of NRE
funds

Loans upto Rs.
100 lakhs to
depositors and
third parties may
be granted against
security of FCNR
funds

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Change in residential status – R to NR
• Shares
• Existing bank accounts / New bank accounts
• Loans / Overdrafts availed when he was a Resident
• Can they be continued?
• Payment of interest & repayment of loans
• Immovable property
• Insurance policies
• Directorship / Trustee / Karta

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Change in residential status – NR to R
• Foreign bank account
• Foreign shares
• Foreign property
• Foreign currency
• Income earned on assets held abroad by NRIs who have returned to India
permanently?

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Person resident in India going abroad
Gone abroad for studies or on visit to a foreign country:
• may open, hold and maintain a Foreign Currency Account with a bank outside
India
• provided, the balance in the account is repatriated to India on return to India

Gone abroad for trade fair / exhibition:
• may open, hold and maintain a Foreign Currency Account with a bank outside
India
• provided, the balance in the account is repatriated to India within one month

Short visits to India before completion of studies – not
considered as return to India
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Foreign Tourists
Can foreign tourists open a bank account in India during their short visit?
 Yes. Foreign tourists during their short visit to India can open a Non-Resident
(Ordinary) Rupee (NRO) account (Current / Savings) with any Authorized Dealer
bank dealing in foreign exchange. Such account can be opened up to a
maximum period of 6 months.

What credits can be made to such accounts?
 Funds remitted from outside India through banking channel or those obtained by
sale of foreign exchange brought by the tourists to India can be credited to the
NRO account.
Can the NRO account be used for making local payments?
 Yes. Tourists can freely make local payments through the NRO account. All
payments to residents exceeding INR 50,000 can be made only by means of
cheques / pay orders / demand drafts.

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Foreign Tourists
Can foreign tourists repatriate the balance held in their NRO account at the time of
departure from India?
 Authorized Dealer banks have been allowed to convert the balance in the
account for payment to the account holder at the time of departure from India
into foreign currency, provided the account has been maintained for a period not
exceeding six months and the account has not been credited with any local
funds, other than interest accrued thereon.
What can be done to repatriate the proceeds of an account that has been
maintained for more than six months?
 In such cases, applications for repatriation of balance may be made on plain
paper to the Foreign Exchange Department of the Regional Office concerned of
the Reserve Bank through the Authorized Dealer bank maintaining the account.
Can foreign nationals resident in India open resident account?
 Yes. Foreign nationals resident in India can open and maintain a resident Rupee
account in India in terms of Notification No.5/2000-RB dated May 3, 2000 viz.,
Foreign Exchange Management (Deposit) Regulations, 2000, as amended from
time to time.
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Loans to / from relatives
Can an individual resident Indian borrow money from his close relatives outside India?
Yes, an individual resident Indian can borrow sum not exceeding USD 250,000 or its
equivalent from his close relatives staying outside India, subject to the conditions that:
• the minimum maturity period of the loan is one year;
• the loan is free of interest; and
• the amount of loan is received by inward remittance in free foreign exchange through
normal banking channels or by debit to the NRE/FCNR(B) account of the NRI.
Can an individual resident lend money to his close relative NRI / PIO?
Yes, an individual resident can lend money by way of crossed cheque /electronic transfer
within the overall limit of USD 200,000 per financial year under the Liberalized Remittance
Scheme, to meet the borrower’s personal or business requirements in India, subject to
conditions. The loan should be interest free and have a maturity of minimum one year and
cannot be remitted outside India.
Can an individual resident repay loans of close relative NRIs to banks in India?
Yes, where an authorized dealer in India has granted loan to a non-resident Indian such loans
may also be repaid by resident close relative (relative as defined in Section 6 of the
Companies Act, 1956), of the Non-Resident Indian by crediting the borrower's loan account
through the bank account of such relative.
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Loans from banks
•

Banks can grant Loans in India to NRIs. Loans can be against:
‒ Shares
‒ Immovable property

•

For meeting Personal / Business purposes

•

Not in restricted sectors – Agriculture / real estate business / trading in TDR

•

Loan credited to NRE/FCNR/NRNR A/c cannot be remitted abroad

•

Repayment - NRO/ NRE/FCNR/ Inward Remittance or by a close relative resident in India

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Gifts to / from relatives
Can a resident individual give rupee gifts to his visiting NRI/PIO close relatives?
Yes, a resident individual can give rupee gifts to his visiting NRI/PIO close relatives by way of
crossed cheque/electronic transfer within the overall limit of USD 75,000 per financial year for
the resident individual and the gifted amount should be credited to the beneficiary’s NRO
account.
Can a person resident in India transfer shares by way of gift to a person resident
outside India?
An application would have to be made to RBI, providing details of transferor and transferee,
reasons for making the gift, etc. The gift should not exceed 5 per cent of the paid up capital of
the Indian company/ each series of debentures/ each mutual fund scheme. The applicable
sectoral cap/ foreign direct investment limit in the Indian company should not breached.

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Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS)
•

All resident individuals, including minors, are allowed to freely remit up to USD 75,000 per
financial year (April – March) for any permissible current or capital account transaction or
a combination of both.

•

LRS facility is in addition to those already available for private travel, business travel,
studies, medical treatment, etc., as described in Schedule III

•

Remittances for gift and donation cannot be made separately and are subsumed under
the limit available under this LRS. Accordingly, resident individuals can remit towards gifts
and donations up to USD 75,000 per financial year under the Scheme.

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Questions
Can a resident individual holding a savings bank account include
nonresident close relative as a joint account holder?
 Yes, individuals resident in India are permitted to include non-resident close
relative(s) as a joint holder(s) in their resident bank accounts on ‘former or
survivor’ basis. However, such non- resident Indian close relatives shall not be
eligible to operate the account during the life time of the resident account holder.

Can Exchange Earners Foreign Currency (EEFC) accounts be held jointly
with a -resident Indian?

 Yes, EEFC account of a resident individual can be held jointly with a resident
close relative on a ‘former or survivor’ basis. However, such resident Indian
close relative will not be eligible to operate the account during the life time of the
resident account holder.
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Authorised Dealer
Person authorised to deal in foreign currency

Category

Entities

Major Activities

Authorised Dealer – • Commercial Banks
Category I
• State Co-op Banks
• Urban Co-op Banks

All current and capital
account transactions
according to RBI directions
issued from time-to-time.

Authorised Dealer – • Upgraded FFMCs
Category II
• Co-op. Banks
• Regional Rural
Banks (RRBs)
• Others

Specified non-trade related
current account
transactions as also all the
activities permitted to Full
Fledged Money Changers.

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Authorised Dealer
Person authorised to deal in foreign currency

Category

Entities

Authorised Dealer – • Select Financial and
Category III
other Institutions

FFMC

• Dept. of Posts
• Urban Co-op. Banks
• Other FFMCs

Major Activities
Transactions incidental to
the foreign exchange
activities undertaken by
these institutions.
Purchase of foreign
exchange and sale for
private and business visits
abroad.

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Thank You

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