NRE account in India and OCI/Visa
- Thread starter dpsingh
- Start date
CrossHairs
Registered Users (C)
is it NRI or NRE? (what is NRE?)
NRE is repatriable. So if you convert dollars to rupees you can convert it back to dollars if you so decide. Also you can only deposit foreign currencies into these accounts (no rupee deposits).
You can still maintain the accounts based on your USC. OCI is not a must. In India there will be a TDS on NRE accounts. 1/3rd will be cut. You will have to file a return and claim the money back if it is due...
in US, I believe, you have to show your income in India (interest paid) and claim tax credit based on what you paid.
Last edited by a moderator:
------------Income from interest on moneys standing to the credit of NRE/FCNR accounts is exempt from Income tax
Last edited by a moderator:
For NRI they have :
NRE : Non Resident external account
NRO: Non Resident Ordinary account
FCNR :fixed deposits enable NRIs to earn good returns on their foreign currency earnings.
**Funds remitted from abroad or local funds, which can otherwise be remitted abroad to the account holder, can be credited to NRE Accounts. Local funds, which do not qualify for remittance outside India, are required to be credited to NRO accounts. Funds can be freely transferred from NRE account to NRO account. However, no funds can be transferred from NRO account to NRE account
read the links:
http://www.querycat.com/faq/6f983767a50d4446ca6284a537595a65
http://www.hdfcbank.com/nri/accounts/default.htm
http://www.icicibank.com/pfsuser/icicibank/ibank-nri/nrinewversion/Accounts_USA_FCNRfixed.htm
realnewbie
Registered Users (C)
ginnu: A question - Do you mean that for resident accounts (e.g. someone who has always lived and still lives in India) there is never TDS at all?
OR is there TDS for resident accounts when the yearly interest exceeds Rs. 20,000?
My understanding is that there is never any TDS for Indians who have always lived in India (i.e. who have never been an NRI/PIO etc.). Am I not right?
I looked at various links, but was not able to understand correctly, hence asking here.
****RBI rules or FEMA also says that NRI cant buy agricultural land in India. Who asks you if you are NRI or not. Buyer is interested in getting money and Registrar doesn’t need your passport or ask you if you are NRI. Registrar only checks the documents for 2 seconds and sign the document and you get registrary done on your name. Many have bought agricultural land and many bought and then sold for more. Registrar also does not know what is FEMA or what RBI says for NRI and he may not know what does it mean by NRI.ginnu: A question - Do you mean that for resident accounts (e.g. someone who has always lived and still lives in India) there is never TDS at all?
OR is there TDS for resident accounts when the yearly interest exceeds Rs. 20,000?
--------------------- Correct. If you have account with branch A of the bank and yearly interest exceeds Rs. 20,000 in branch A then only TDS. That is per branch of Bank. One can have 4 accounts with same Bank and different branches or in different banks to avoid the TDS . FYI rules keep on changing everyday for banks in India.I think for senior citizens they don’t cut TDS.
My understanding is that there is never any TDS for Indians who have always lived in India (i.e. who have never been an NRI/PIO etc.). Am I not right?
----------------the info above is only for Indians who have always lived in India Or who are NRI but never informed the bank and still have Rsident account.
for more info you can check with any CA or Bank in India
I looked at various links, but was not able to understand correctly, hence asking here.
---------------- It is difficult to understand one need to have updates from CA or Bank managers. Many Bank clerks are also not able to give you correct answer. My info is based on my latest research and I have a friend who is working in state bank of India he gave me some info.
Just to inform you that one of my friend has NRE account in XYZ bank and also his resident account with same bank (he never updated the bank and converted it as NRO). My friend had some income in India and told his brother to deposit it in his Resident saving Bank account but his brother by mistake wrote the NRE account # on deposit slip and the Bank deposited the Indian rupees to NRE account(according to RBI rules one cant deposit Indian earned rupees to NRE account it should be deposited to NRO account) anything can happen in India.
realnewbie
Registered Users (C)
ginnu: Thanks for the detailed response!
realnewbie
Registered Users (C)
Best exchange rates: which bank(s)?
Anyone have experience on which bank(s) gives the best conversion rates for USDollars --> INRupees? This is for remitting money to India. The banks' websites give either no information, or conflicting information on daily exchange rates.
Thanks in advance.
Anyone have experience on which bank(s) gives the best conversion rates for USDollars --> INRupees? This is for remitting money to India. The banks' websites give either no information, or conflicting information on daily exchange rates.
Thanks in advance.
unless you do a wire transfer (and spend the xtra $15), money2india seems to be the best.
Rama Bashyam
Registered Users (C)
I use remit2india and they have exchange rates listed there (which are pretty competitive) and so far I am happy with them. It usually takes about 5 bus. days to get the money into my bank in India. The rate applied is the rate when the transfer went through (not when it is taken from your bank acct). I think they also have some faster services for more fee.
Another alternative is to use an ATM card of a US bank in India. I have found that the best US$/Re exchange rate is obtained this way and I use it all the time when I travel to India.
If you have family members in India who are comfortable using ATM cards you can send them an ATM card of any US bank and get them to use it there. You will have to plan for potential risks like losing ATM card and so on but it is quite manageable. Most online banks offer ATM cards with no fee withdrawals and AFAIK ATMs in India also don't charge any additional fee for using a US ATM card.
If you have family members in India who are comfortable using ATM cards you can send them an ATM card of any US bank and get them to use it there. You will have to plan for potential risks like losing ATM card and so on but it is quite manageable. Most online banks offer ATM cards with no fee withdrawals and AFAIK ATMs in India also don't charge any additional fee for using a US ATM card.
realnewbie
Registered Users (C)
kcpant and Rama Bashyam:
Thank you. I looked around the web a bit and see that...
money2india is the same as ICICI bank
remit2india is timesofmoney.com
Also, it seems like as far as exchange rates are concerned, there is not much that we can do... we are at the mercy of the bank and also the date on which the currency conversion actually happens.
money2india and remit2india seem to offer better/best exchange conversion rates compared with other banks.
Does the above sound accurate in your experience(s)?
Thank you. I looked around the web a bit and see that...
money2india is the same as ICICI bank
remit2india is timesofmoney.com
Also, it seems like as far as exchange rates are concerned, there is not much that we can do... we are at the mercy of the bank and also the date on which the currency conversion actually happens.
money2india and remit2india seem to offer better/best exchange conversion rates compared with other banks.
Does the above sound accurate in your experience(s)?
realnewbie
Registered Users (C)
nkm-oct23: Thanks.
- Does the US bank need to have a branch in India in order to make use of the no-fee withdrawals?
- Care to name one/two banks that you have found to be good in this respect? (I will not hold you to any recommendation that you make
)nkm-oct23: Thanks.
- Does the US bank need to have a branch in India in order to make use of the no-fee withdrawals?
- Care to name one/two banks that you have found to be good in this respect? (I will not hold you to any recommendation that you make
Citibank used to be like that. I had used my US checking a/c ATM card in India Citibank ATMs. No service charge or any fees were deducted and the exchange rates were amazingly good than any other mode of conversion. However during the middle of my trip :-( , starting Feb 2008, they added a 3% service charge which made it still ok for emergencies but not as a regular. I am sure credit unions will have a better option.
Try onlinesbi.com/gls.. They always seem to have better rate atleast 5-10 paise more
I regularly used money2india, but now use onlinesbi more...
I regularly used money2india, but now use onlinesbi more...
nkm-oct23: Thanks.
- Does the US bank need to have a branch in India in order to make use of the no-fee withdrawals?
- Care to name one/two banks that you have found to be good in this respect? (I will not hold you to any recommendation that you make
No, ATMs work universally all over the world (except in some countries that require 6 digit PINs). Most ATMs in India are affiliated to either VISA or Mastercard transaction processing ( or variations like Maestro, Visa electron, etc.) US bank need not have any branch in India. In fact I used ATM cards from credit unions all over India without any problem.
One point to remember is that when selecting the type of account in the ATM keypad, select Current account (this is what corresponds to a US checking account) and NOT Savings account.
I have used credit unions and IngBank, WAMU, Netbank (now defunct).
ATMs
There are some local bank (for eg there is Compass Bk) which give me back any atm fees that the drawing bank charged. I used that in india, and got a credit when I submitted the receipts back here.
money2india (icici) seems convenient. Also their xchange rate changes as amount changes. In other words, xchange rate for <1000, <2500 or <5000 is all different, but generally get in the 10 paisa range of what is in their website (unless ofcourse there is a very large variation in the rate that week).
There are some local bank (for eg there is Compass Bk) which give me back any atm fees that the drawing bank charged. I used that in india, and got a credit when I submitted the receipts back here.
money2india (icici) seems convenient. Also their xchange rate changes as amount changes. In other words, xchange rate for <1000, <2500 or <5000 is all different, but generally get in the 10 paisa range of what is in their website (unless ofcourse there is a very large variation in the rate that week).