New FAQ Page 2 - আরবিআই

RbiAnnouncementWeb

FAQ DetailPage Breadcrumb

Search Bar

Search Results

Sale, Purchase, etc., of Immovable Property in India (As on September 1, 2001)

Introduction

Introduction

The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), came in force with effect from June 1, 2000. Section 6(3)(i) of the Act empowers the Reserve Bank to frame regulations to prohibit, restrict or regulate the acquisition or transfer of immovable property in India by certain persons mainly residents outside India. The restrictions under this clause are not applicable to a lease of immovable property for a period not exceeding five years. The regulations made by the Reserve Bank are called Foreign Exchange Management (Acquisition and Transfer of Immovable property in India) Regulations, 2000, and have been notified vide Notification FEMA No.21/2000-RB of May 3,2000. Full text of the Notification is available on the Bank's website www.fema.rbi.org.in. Synopsis of the said Regulations is as under:

All persons, whether resident in India or outside India, who are citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Nepal or Bhutan, require prior permission of Reserve Bank for acquiring or transferring any immovable property in India.

A person resident outside India, who has been permitted by Reserve Bank to establish a branch, or office, or place of business in India( excluding a Laison Office), has general permission of Reserve Bank to acquire immovable property in India , which is necessary for, or incidental to, the activity. However, in such cases a declaration ,in prescribed form (IPI), is required to be filed with the Reserve Bank, within 90 days of the acquisition of immovable property.

An Indian citizen resident outside India does not require any permission to acquire any immovable property in India other than agricultural/ plantation property or a farm house.

An Indian citizen resident outside India does not require any permission to transfer any immovable property, to a citizen of India who is resident in India.

An Indian citizen resident outside India does not require any permission to transfer any immovable property other than agricultural or plantation property or farm house, to a person who :-

is a citizen of India resident outside India , or

is a person of Indian origin resident outside India.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to acquire any immovable property other than agricultural land/farm house/plantation property in India by purchase, from out of funds:

received in India by way of inward remittance through banking channel from any place outside India, or

held in any non-resident account maintained in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the regulations made by the Reserve Bank under the Act.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to acquire any immovable property in India other than agricultural land/farm house/plantation property by way of gift from a person resident in India or from a person resident outside India who is a citizen of India or from a person of Indian origin resident outside India.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to acquire any immovable property in India by way of inheritance from a person resident outside India who had acquired such property in accordance with the provisions of the foreign exchange law in force at the time of acquisition by him or the provisions of these Regulations or from a person resident in India.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to transfer any immovable property in India other than agricultural land/farm house/plantation property, by way of sale to a person resident in India.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to transfer agricultural land/farm house/plantation property in India, by way of gift or sale to a person resident in India who is a citizen of India.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to transfer residential or commercial property in India by way of gift to a person resident in India or to a person resident outside India who is a citizen of India or to a person of Indian Origin resident outside India.

Repatriation outside India, including credit to NRE or FCNR account, of sale proceeds of any immovable property situated in India, requires prior permission of the Reserve Bank except in circumstances stated in paragraph 13 below.

In the event of sale of immovable property other than agricultural land/farm house/plantation property in India by a person resident outside India, who is a citizen of India, or a person of Indian origin, the authorised dealer may allow repatriation of the sale proceeds outside India, provided all the following conditions are satisfied :-

the immovable property was acquired by the seller in accordance with the provisions of the Exchange Control Rules /Regulations/Law in force at the time of acquisition, or the provisions of the Regulations framed under the Foreign Exchange Management Act,1999;

the sale takes place after three years from the date of acquisition of such immovable property or from the date of payment of final instalment of consideration for its acquisition, whichever is later;

the amount to be repatriated does not exceed (a) the amount paid for acquisition of the immovable property in foreign exchange received through normal banking channels or out of funds held in foreign currency non-resident account or (b) the foreign currency equivalent, as on the date of payment, of the amount paid where such payment was made from the funds held in non-resident external account for acquisition of the property; and

in the case of residential property, the repatriation of sale proceeds is restricted to not more than two such properties.

All requests for acquisition of agricultural land/plantation property/ farm house by any person resident outside India or foreign nationals may be made to The Chief General Manager, Reserve Bank of India, Central Office, Exchange Control Department, Foreign Investment Division (III), Mumbai 400 001.

The NRIs/ PIOs can freely rent out their immovable property in India without seeking any permission from the Reserve Bank. The rental income being a current account transaction is freely repatriable outside India.

Notes:

A. For the purposes of transactions, i.e., transfer, sale, purchase, etc., dealing with immovable property in India, a person of Indian origin is defined as under:

" an individual (not being a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh or Sri Lanka or Afghanistan or China or Iran or Nepal or Bhutan), who:

( i) at any time, held Indian passport;

(ii) who or either of whose father or whose grandfather was a citizen of India by virtue of the Constitution of India or the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955). "

B. Queries on the subject can be transmitted by e-mail on rbecfidt@bol.net.in .

C. For further details please contact the nearest Regional Office of the Reserve Bank of India (Exchange Control Department).

read-more

FOREX FACILITIES FOR RESIDENTS

Forex Facilities for Residents

If you are a Resident Indian, you can buy foreign exchange without permission from the Reserve Bank of India for :

Private Travel

You can avail of foreign exchange upto US$ 10,000 in any calendar year for tourism or private travel to any country other than Nepal and Bhutan on the basis of self-certification.

Endorsement on passport

There is no compulsion for you to get your passport endorsed with the foreign exchange purchased for travel outside India. Should you desire to get your passport endorsed, the bank/money changer releasing foreign exchange would do it.

Visit to Nepal and Bhutan

You can carry any amount of Indian currency while travelling to these countries, but you are not permitted to take Indian currency notes of denomination of Rs.500 and above or buy any foreign exchange for visit to these countries.

Study Abroad

You can buy foreign exchange upto US$ 30,000 or upto the estimate from the institution abroad, whichever is higher, per academic year on the basis of simple documentary evidence indicating the requirement.

Medical Treatment

You can buy foreign exchange on the basis of self-certification, upto US$ 50,000 to meet the expenses for medical treatment outside India. Banks are also permitted to release exchange required in excess of US$ 50,000, on the basis of estimate from a doctor or hospital in India or overseas.

You can also buy foreign exchange upto US$ 25,000 per person for meeting boarding/lodging/travel expenses of the patient and also the accompanying attendant on self-certification.

Employment Abroad

You can buy foreign exchange upto US$ 5,000 on production of letter of employment.

Emigration

You can buy foreign exchange upto US$ 5,000, or amount prescribed by country of emigration on the basis of emigration visa.

International Credit Cards

You can use your International Credit Cards/ ATM Cards/Debit Cards -

while on holidays outside India to meet your expenses.

when outside India for purchase of item of import.

when in India, for making payment in foreign exchange for purchase of books and other items through Internet.

The use of ICCs by residents while on visit abroad has been made free from all restrictions, without any item-wise limit within the overall ceiling of the credit card itself. The ICCs cannot be used for purchase of prohibited items e.g. lottery tickets, banned or proscribed magazines, participation in sweepstakes, payment of call-back services etc.

Remittance for Miscellaneous Purposes upto US$ 500

You can remit foreign exchange outside India upto US$ 500, for miscellaneous purposes, without production of any document provided the rupee equivalent is paid by debit to your account, cheque or by demand draft.

Gifts and Donations

You can gift/donate upto US$ 5,000 every year on self-certification.

Foreign Exchange can be purchased :

from any bank which is authorised to deal in foreign exchange or full-fledged moneychangers. If the rupee equivalent exceeds Rs.50,000/-, the entire payment has to be made by way of a crossed cheque/banker's cheque/pay order/demand draft only.

60 days ahead of the journey date. In case it is not possible to use the foreign exchange within the period of 60 days, it should be surrendered to a bank/money changer.

Surrender of Foreign Exchange on Return

You can indefinitely retain foreign exchange upto US$ 2,000, in the form of foreign currency notes or travellers' cheques (TCs) for future use. Any foreign exchange in cash in excess of this sum, is required to be surrendered to a bank within 90 days and TCs within 180 days of return. Any amount in excess of US$ 2000 can be credited to RFC(D) account.

Resident Foreign Currency (Domestic) Account

You can open a Resident Foreign Currency (Domestic) Account with a bank in India and deposit foreign exchange earnings repatriated to India through banking channel. The earnings could be out of export of goods and/or services, royalty, honorarium etc.

You can also open/credit the RFC(D) account with currency notes, bank notes and travellers cheques (a) saved from your trip outside India, (b) received as honorarium during your trip outside India, (c) received as gift from persons on visit to India, and (d) received from a person on a visit to India for services rendered to him in India.

These accounts are NOT interest bearing and there is no ceiling on the balances that can be built up in these accounts.

The balances held in these accounts can be used for any purpose for which foreign exchange can be bought from a bank in India.

Retention of Foreign Coins

You can retain foreign coins indefinitely without any limit.

Bringing in Foreign Exchange

You can bring into India foreign exchange without any limit. If, however, the value of foreign currency in cash exceeds US$ 5,000 and/or the cash plus TCs exceed US$ 10,000 it should be declared to the customs authorities at the airport in the currency declaration form (CDF), on arrival in India.

Exchange Earners’ Foreign Currency (EEFC) Account

You can retain upto specified limits, your earnings in foreign exchange, in an Exchange Earners' Foreign Currency (EEFC) Account with a bank in India.

These accounts are NOT interest bearing and there is no ceiling on the balances that can be built up in these accounts.

Balances held in such accounts can be used for any purposes for which exchange can be otherwise purchased from authorised dealers in India.

For details of additional facilities available in EEFC account please contact your bank.

ESOP Scheme

A resident individual, who is an employee or a director of an Indian office or branch of a foreign company or of a subsidiary of a foreign company or of an Indian company in which the foreign equity holding is not less that 51 per cent, can make remittances for the acquisition of foreign securities under Employees Stock Option (ESOP) Scheme without any monetary limit. The scheme is subject to the condition that the shares are offered at the concessional price. (The facility will be subject to review in June 2003).

Portfolio Investment - Overseas

Resident individuals can invest without any monetary limit in overseas companies listed on a recognised stock exchange which have the shareholding of at least 10 per cent in an Indian company listed on a recognised stock exchange in India (as on 1^st January of the year of the investment). (The facility will be subject to review in June 2003).

Receipt of dis-investment proceeds/Sponsored ADRs/GDRs

Resident shareholders of Indian companies, who offer their shares for conversion to ADRs/GDRs under the Scheme of Sponsored ADRs/GDRs can receive the sale proceeds in foreign currency or credit it to their EEFC/RFC (D) or Rupee accounts in India at their option.

N.B. All the above facilities are available under general permission, i.e., foreign exchange can be availed of from authorised dealers and does not require Reserve Bank's approval.

read-more

Local Area Banks were set up in the year 1996 with a view to ensuring provision of efficient and competitive financial services in their area of operations. Local Area Bank Scheme has now been in operation for the last six years. To undertake a review of the operation of the scheme it has been decided to constitute a review group.

The review group will make appropriate recommendations in the matter and submit its Report to the Reserve Bank by September 2002.

We invite your comments/suggestions/feedback which may be sent to Shri A.V. Sardesai, Member Secretary at cgmincrpcd@rbi.org.in or helprpcd@rbi.org.in

read-more

Introduction

Introduction

All persons, whether resident in India or outside India, who are citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Nepal or Bhutan, require prior permission of Reserve Bank for acquiring or transferring any immovable property in India.

A person resident outside India, who has been permitted by Reserve Bank to establish a branch, or office, or place of business in India( excluding a Laison Office), has general permission of Reserve Bank to acquire immovable property in India , which is necessary for, or incidental to, the activity. However, in such cases a declaration ,in prescribed form (IPI), is required to be filed with the Reserve Bank, within 90 days of the acquisition of immovable property.

An Indian citizen resident outside India does not require any permission to acquire any immovable property in India other than agricultural/ plantation property or a farm house.

An Indian citizen resident outside India does not require any permission to transfer any immovable property, to a citizen of India who is resident in India.

An Indian citizen resident outside India does not require any permission to transfer any immovable property other than agricultural or plantation property or farm house, to a person who :-

is a citizen of India resident outside India , or

is a person of Indian origin resident outside India.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to acquire any immovable property other than agricultural land/farm house/plantation property in India by purchase, from out of funds:

received in India by way of inward remittance through banking channel from any place outside India, or

held in any non-resident account maintained in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the regulations made by the Reserve Bank under the Act.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to acquire any immovable property in India other than agricultural land/farm house/plantation property by way of gift from a person resident in India or from a person resident outside India who is a citizen of India or from a person of Indian origin resident outside India.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to acquire any immovable property in India by way of inheritance from a person resident outside India who had acquired such property in accordance with the provisions of the foreign exchange law in force at the time of acquisition by him or the provisions of these Regulations or from a person resident in India.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to transfer any immovable property in India other than agricultural land/farm house/plantation property, by way of sale to a person resident in India.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to transfer agricultural land/farm house/plantation property in India, by way of gift or sale to a person resident in India who is a citizen of India.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to transfer residential or commercial property in India by way of gift to a person resident in India or to a person resident outside India who is a citizen of India or to a person of Indian Origin resident outside India.

Repatriation outside India , including credit to RFC, NRE or FCNR account, of sale proceeds of any immovable property situated in India, requires prior permission of the Reserve Bank except in circumstances stated in paragraph 13 below.

In the event of sale of immovable property other than agricultural land/farm house/plantation property in India by a person resident outside India, who is a citizen of India, or a person of Indian origin, the authorised dealer may allow repatriation of the sale proceeds outside India, provided all the following conditions are satisfied :-

the immovable property was acquired by the seller in accordance with the provisions of the Exchange Control Rules /Regulations/Law in force at the time of acquisition, or the provisions of the Regulations framed under the Foreign Exchange Management Act,1999;

the amount to be repatriated does not exceed (a) the amount paid for acquisition of the immovable property in foreign exchange received through normal banking channels or out of funds held in foreign currency non-resident account or (b) the foreign currency equivalent, as on the date of payment, of the amount paid where such payment was made from the funds held in non-resident external account for acquisition of the property; and

in the case of residential property, the repatriation of sale proceeds is restricted to not more than two such properties.

Authorised Dealers have been permitted to allow the facility of repatriation of funds by NRIs/PIOs in their Non-Resident Ordinary Rupee (NRO) account upto USD One Million per year representing sale proceeds of immovable property held by them for a period of not less than 10 years subject to payment of applicable taxes.

All requests for acquisition of agricultural land/plantation property/ farm house by any person resident outside India or foreign nationals may be made to The Chief General Manager, Reserve Bank of India, Central Office, Exchange Control Department, Foreign Investment Division (III), Mumbai 400 001.

The NRIs/ PIOs can freely rent out their immovable property in India without seeking any permission from the Reserve Bank. The rental income being a current account transaction is freely repatriable outside India.

Notes:

A. For the purposes of transactions, i.e., transfer, sale, purchase, etc., dealing with immovable property in India, a person of Indian origin is defined as under:

" an individual (not being a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh or Sri Lanka or Afghanistan or China or Iran or Nepal or Bhutan), who:

( i) at any time, held Indian passport;

(ii) who or either of whose father or whose grandfather was a citizen of India by virtue of the Constitution of India or the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955). "

B. Queries on the subject can be transmitted by e-mail on rbecfidt@bol.net.in .

C. For further details please contact the nearest Regional Office of the Reserve Bank of India (Exchange Control Department).

read-more

State Bank of India (SBI)
State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (SBJ)
State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH)
State Bank of Indore (SBN)
State Bank of Mysore (SBM)
State Bank of Patiala (SBP)
State Bank of Saurashtra (SBS)
State Bank of Travancore (SBT)
Allahabad Bank (ALB)
Andhra Bank (ANB)
Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank
Bank of America NT & SA (BOA)
Bank of Baroda (BOB)
Bank of India (BOI)
Bank of Maharashtra (BOM)
The Bank of Rajasthan Ltd. (BOR)
Banque Nationale De Paris (BNP)
The Bassein Catholic Co op Bank Ltd. (BCH)
Canara Bank (CAB)
Central Bank of India (CBI)
CITI Bank N.A.(CIT)
The Citizen Co op Bank Ltd. (CCB)
Corporation Bank (COB)
The Cosmos Co op Bank Ltd. (CSM)
Credit Agricole Indosuez (CAI)
Dena Bank (DEB)
Deutsche Bank Ltd (DTB)
Development Credit Bank Ltd. (DCB)
The Federal Bank Ltd. (FBL)
The Global Trust Bank Ltd.
The Greater Bombay Co op Bank Ltd. (GBC)
The ICICI Bank Ltd.(Bank of Madura Merged with ICICI w.e.f. 12/03/2001)
Indian Bank (INB)
Indian Overseas Bank (IOB)
The Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd. Pune (JSB)
The Karnataka Bank Ltd. (KBL)
The Karur Vysya Bank Ltd. (KVB)
The Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd. (LVB)
Lord Krishna Ltd. (LKR)
The North Kanara Gaud Saraswat Brahmin Co op Bank Ltd. (NKC)
Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC)
Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB)
Punjab Natrional Bank (PNB)
The Ratnakar Bank Ltd. (RTN)
The Saraswat Co op Bank Ltd. (SRC)
The South Indian Bank Ltd. (SIB)
ABN Amro Bank N.V.
Syndicate Bank (SYB)
UCO bank (UCO)
Union Bank of India (UBI)
United Bank of India (UNI)
The United Western Bank Ltd (UWB)
The UTI Bank Ltd (UTI)
Vijaya Bank (VJB)
The Vysya Bank Ltd. (VBL)
Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (HON)
The Punjab & Maharashtra Co op Bank Ltd. (PMB)
Induslnd Bank Ltd. (IDS)
Sangali Bank Ltd. (SAN)
The Shamrao Vithal Co op Bank Ltd. (SVC)
The Kalupur Commercial Co op Bank Ltd. (KCC)
Oman International Bank S.A.O.G. (OIB)
The Maharashtra State Co op Bank Ltd. (MSCB)
HDFC Bank Ltd.
IDBI Bank Ltd.
Mumbai GPO (GPO)
The Dhanalakshmi Bank Ltd.
The Bank of Punjab Ltd.
City Union Bank Ltd.
Mandvi Co op Bank Ltd.
The A.P. State Co op Bank Ltd.
The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank)
The Janakalyan Sahakari Bank Ltd.
Ahmedabad Disrict Co op Bank Ltd.
The Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd.
The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubisi Ltd.
The SBI Commercial & International Bank Ltd.

read-more

The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, (FEMA) has came in force with effect from 1^st June 2000. Section 6(3)(i) of the Act empowers the Reserve Bank to frame regulations to prohibit, restrict or regulate the acquisition or transfer of immovable property in India by certain persons mainly resident outside India. The restrictions under this clause are not applicable to a lease of immovable property for a period not exceeding five years. The regulations made by the Reserve Bank are called Foreign Exchange Management (Acquisition and Transfer of Immovable property in India) Regulations 2000 and have been notified vide Notification FEMA No.21/2000-RB of May 3,2000.

A synopsis of the Regulations is given in the following paragraphs.

All persons, whether resident in India or outside India, who are citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Nepal or Bhutan require prior permission of Reserve Bank for acquiring or transferring any immovable property in India.

A person resident outside India, who has been permitted by Reserve Bank to establish a branch, or office or place of business in India( excluding a Laison Office), has general permission of Reserve Bank to acquire immovable property in India , which is necessary for or incidental to the activity. However, in such cases only a declaration ,in prescribed form (IPI), is required to be filed, within 90 days of the acquisition of immovable property, with the Reserve Bank.

An Indian Citizen resident outside India does not require any permission to acquire any immovable property in India other than agricultural/ plantation land or a farm house.

An Indian Citizen resident outside India does not require any permission to transfer any immovable property, to a Citizen of India who is resident in India.

An Indian Citizen resident outside India does not require any permission to transfer any immovable property other than agricultural or plantation property or farm house, to a person who :-

is a citizen of India resident outside India , or

is a person of Indian origin resident outside India.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to acquire any immovable property other than agricultural land/farm house/plantation property in India by purchase, from out of funds:

received in India by way of inward remittance through banking channel from any place outside India, or

held in any non-resident account maintained in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the regulations made by the Reserve Bank under the Act;

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to acquire any immovable property in India other than agricultural land/form house/plantation property by way of gift from a person resident in India or from a person resident outside India who is a citizen of India or from a person of Indian origin resident outside India;

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to acquire any immovable property in India by way of inheritance from a person resident outside India who had acquired such property in accordance with the provisions of the foreign exchange law in force at the time of acquisition by him or the provisions of these Regulations or from a person resident in India.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to transfer any immovable property in India other than agricultural land/farm house/plantation property, by way of sale to a person resident in India.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to transfer agricultural land/farm house/plantation property in India, by way of gift or sale to a person resident in India who is a citizen of India.

A person of Indian origin resident outside India does not require any permission to transfer residential or commercial property in India by way of gift to a person resident in India or to a person resident outside India who is a citizen of India or to a person of Indian Origin resident outside India.

12.Repatriation outside India , including credit to RFC, NRE or FCNR account, of sale proceeds of any immovable property situated in India requires prior permission of the Reserve Bank except in circumstances given in paragraph 13 below.

In the event of sale of immovable property other than agricultural land/farm house/plantation property in India by a person resident outside India who is a citizen of India or a person of Indian origin, the authorised dealer may allow repatriation of the sale proceeds outside India, provided all the following conditions are satisfied :-

the immovable property was acquired by the seller in accordance with the provisions of the exchange control Rules /regulations/law in force at the time of acquisition or the provisions of the Regulations framed under Foreign Exchange Management Act,1999;

the sale takes place after three years from the date of acquisition of such immovable property or from the date of payment of final instalment of consideration for its acquisition, whichever is later; and;

the amount to be repatriated does not exceed (a) the amount paid for acquisition of the immovable property in foreign exchange received through normal banking channels or out of funds held in foreign currency Non-Resident Account or (b) the foreign currency equivalent, as on the date of payment, of the amount paid where such payment was made from the funds held in Non-Resident External account for acquisition of the property;

in the case of residential property, the repatriation of sale proceeds is restricted to not more than two such properties.

All requests for acquisition of agricultural land/plantation property/ farm house by any person resident outside India or foreign nationals may be made to The Chief General Manager, Exchange Control Department, Foreign Investment Division (III), Central Office, Mumbai 400 001.

The NRIs/ PIOs can freely rent out their immovable property in India without seeking any permission from the Reserve Bank. The rental income being a current account transaction is freely repatriable outside India.

Notes:

A. For the purposes of transactions i.e. transfer . sale, purchase etc., dealing with immovable property in India, a person of Indian origin is defined as follows:

" an individual (not being a citizen or Pakistan or Bangladesh or Sri Lanka or Afghanistan or China or Iran or Nepal or Bhutan). Who:

( i) at any time, held Indian passport;

(ii) who or either of whose father or whose grandfather was a citizen of India by virtue of the Constitution of India or the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955). "

B. Queries on the subject can be sent by e-mail on rbecfidt@bol.net.in .

C. For further details please contact the nearest Regional Office of the Reserve Bank of India (Exchange Control Department).

read-more

1	Tower Capital & Securities Pvt.Ltd.
	ABAN House,
	25/31, RopeWalk Lane,
	Off Rampart Row,
	Fort,Mumbai-400 001
	Tel: 204 5844, 287 5054
	Fax: 204 5765

2	Dil Vikas Finance Co.Ltd.
	1513, Maker Chambers V,
	221, Nariman Point,
	Mumbai-400 021
	Tel: 287 1377, 287 1378, 288 2654-55
	Fax: 284 6010

3	Birla Global Finance Co.Ltd.
	Apeejay 2nd Floor,
	Shahid Bhagat Singh Road,
	Fort, Mumbai-400 021
	Tel: 288 0660, 288 0041
	Fax: 288 1088

4	SREI International Securities Ltd.
	812, Embassy Centre,
	Nariman Point,
	Mumbai-400 066
	Tel: 204 2241, 204 2245
	Fax: 204 2550
	Email: sreisec@vsnl.net

read-more

Types of Deposit Schemes
Particulars	FCNR a/c [Foreign Currency (Non-Resident) a/c]	NRE a/c [Non-Resident (External) Rupee a/c]	NRO (Non-Resident Ordinary Rupee a/c)
1.	2.	3.	4.
Who can open an account	NRIs and OCBs	NRIs and OCBS	Any person resident outside India
Joint account of two or more NRIs	Permitted	Permitted	Permitted
Joint account with another person resident in India	Not permitted	Not permitted	permitted
Currency in which account denominated	Pound Sterling US Dollar, Jap. Yen, or Euro	Indian Rupees	Indian Rupees
Repatriability: Principal Interest	Freely repatriable Freely repatriable	Freely repatriable Freely repatriable	Not repatriable Freely repatriable
Foreign Currency Risk	Account holder is protected against changes in INR value vis-à-vis the currency in which the account is denominated	Account holder is exposed to the fluctuations in the value of INR	Account holder is exposed to the fluctuations, in the value of INR to the extent of interest amount
Type of accounts	Term deposits only	Current Savings Recurring Fixed Deposits	Current Savings Recurring Fixed Deposits
Period for fixed deposits	For terms not less than 1 year and not exceeding 3 years	For the periods as announced by the deposit taking bank	For the periods as announced by the deposit taking bank
Rate of interest	Banks are free to determine interest rates within the ceiling, if any, prescribed by the Reserve Bank	Banks are free to determine interest rates.	Banks are free to determine interest rates.

Rupees Loans in India against Security of the funds held in the account to:
1.	2.	3.	4.
1) a/c holders	Permitted	Permitted	Permitted
2) third party	Permitted	Permitted	Permitted
Foreign currency loans outside India against Security of the funds held in the account to:
1) a/c holders	Permitted	Permitted	Not permitted
2) third party	Permitted	Permitted	Not permitted

Foot Note:-

Proceeds of NRNR deposits maturing on or after 1-4-2002 may be credited to NRE A/c/NRO A/c at the option of the account holder.

No new NRNR account to be opened after March 31, 2002.
NRNR account may be closed or proceeds transferred to NRO account, as desired by the account holder, on September 30, 2002.
The account holder may choose to credit the maturity proceeds to the NRE saving bank account or current account or open a fresh NRE term deposit account.
No new NRSR account to be opened after March 31, 2002. The existing NRSR term deposit accounts may be continued till maturity and the maturity proceeds may be credited to NRO A/c of the Account holder.
The existing NRSR account other than term deposit not to continue after September 30, 2002. On the closure of the account the balance to be credited to/transferred to NRO A/c of the account holder.
The existing NRSR account other than term deposit not to continue after September 30, 2002. At the option of the account holder it may be closed or balance thereof may be credited to his NRO account on or before that date.

Notes:

Nomination facilities, for nominating either a resident or a non-resident are available, in all types of accounts maintained in the name of individuals only.

For details of tax benefits available against each account please refer to the current income Tax rules.

For the purposes of maintaining an account in India

NRI is a person resident outside India who:

is citizen of India, or

is a citizen of any country other than Bangladesh or Pakistan if

he at any time held Indian passport, or

he or either his parents or any of his grand parents were citizen of India by virtue of the constitution of India or the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), or

a person is a spouse of an Indian citizen or a person referred to in sub-clause (a) or (b) above

OCB is defined as:

"a company, partnership, firm, society or any other corporate body owned directly or indirectly to the extent of at least 60% by non-resident Indian and includes overseas Trust in which not less than 60% beneficial interest is held by non-resident Indians directly or indirectly but irrevocably".

read-more

1. State Bank of India (SBI) 2. State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (SBJ) 3. State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) 4. State Bank of Indore (SBN) 5. State Bank of Mysore (SBM) 6. State Bank of Patiala (SBP) 7. State Bank of Saurashtra (SBS) 8. State Bank of Travancore (SBT) 9. Allahabad Bank (ALB) 10. Andhra Bank (ANB) 11. Anz Grindlays Bank 12. Bank of America (BOA) 13. Bank of Baroda (BOB) 14. Bank of India (BOI) 15. Bank of Madura Ltd.(MDR) 16. Bank of Maharashtra (BOM) 17. Bank of Rajasthan Ltd.(BOR) 18. Banque Nationale De Paris (BNP) 19. Bassein Catholic Coop. Bank Ltd (BCH) 20. Canara Bank (CAB) 21. Central Bank Of India (CBI) 22. Citi Bank (CIT) 23. Citizen Co-op. Bank Ltd. (CCB) 24. Corporation Bank (COB) 25. Cosmos Co-op. Bank Ltd. (CSM) 26. Credit Agricol Indosuez (CAI) 27. Dena Bank (DEB) 28. Deutsche Bank (DTB) 29. Development Credit Bank Ltd.(DCB) 30. Federal Bank Ltd.(FBL) 31. Global Trust Bank Ltd. 32. Greater Bombay Co-op. Bank Ltd. (GBC) 33. ICICI Banking Corporation Limited 34. Indian Bank (INB) 35. Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) 36. Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd. Pune (JSB) 37. Karnataka Bank Ltd.(KBL) 38. Karur Vysya Bank Ltd.(KVB) 39. Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd.(LVB) 40. Lord Krishna Bank Ltd. (LKR) 41. N.K.G.S.B.Co-op. Bank Ltd.(NKC) 42. Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) 43. Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB) 44. Punjab National Bank (PNB) 45. Ratnakar Bank Ltd.(RTN) 46. Saraswat Co-op. Bank Ltd.(SRC) 47. South Indian Bank Ltd.(SIB) 48. Standard Chartered Bank (CHB) 49. Syndicate Bank (SYB) 50. UCO Bank (UCO) 51. Union Bank Of India (UBI) 52. United Bank Of India (UNI) 53. United Western Bank Ltd.(UWB) 54. UTI Bank Ltd.(UTI) 55. Vijaya Bank (VJB) 56. Vysya Bank Ltd.(VBL) 57. Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (HON) 58. Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank Limited (PMB) 59. IndusInd Bank Limited (IDS) 60. Sangli Bank Limited (SAN) 61. The Shamrao Vithal Co-operative Bank Limited (SVC) 62. The Kalupur Commercial Co-operative Bank Limited (KCC) 63. Oman International Bank S.A.O.G. (OIB) 64. The Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank Limited (MSC)

read-more

FOREX FACILITIES FOR NRIS/PIOS

Forex Facilities for NRIs/PIOs

If you are a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) or a Person of Indian Origin (PIO), you can avail of the following facilities without permission from the Reserve Bank :

Deposits

You can open, hold and maintain following types of accounts with an authorised dealer in India i.e. a bank authorised to deal in foreign exchange.

Non-Resident (Ordinary) Rupee Account – NRO Account

Non-Resident (External) Rupee Account – NRE Account

Foreign Currency Non Resident (Bank) Account – FCNR (B) Account

Salient features of the above accounts are as under :

Particulars	FCNR (B) Account	NRE Account	NRO Account
Joint account of two or more NRIs	Permitted	Permitted	Permitted
Joint account with another person resident in India	Not permitted	Not permitted	Permitted
Currency in which account is denominated	Pound Sterling/ US Dollar/Jap.Yen/Euro	Indian Rupees	Indian Rupees
Repatriability – Principal	Freely repatriable	Freely repatriable	Not repatriable (except current income like rent, dividend, pension etc. and remittances indicated under "Repatriation of NRO Funds")
Interest	Freely repatriable	Freely repatriable	Freely repatriable
Foreign currency risk	Account holder is protected against changes in INR value vis-à-vis the currency in which the account is denominated.	Account holder is exposed to the fluctuations in the value of INR.	Account holder is exposed to the fluctuations, in the value of INR to the extent of interest amount.
Type of accounts	Term deposits only.	Current, Savings, Recurring, Fixed Deposits.	Current, Savings, Recurring, Fixed Deposits.
Period of fixed deposits	For terms not less than 1 year and not exceeding 3 years	For the periods as announced by the deposit taking bank.	For the periods as announced by the deposit taking bank.
Rate of interest	Banks are free to determine interest rates within the ceiling, if any, prescribed by the Reserve Bank	Banks are free to determine interest rates.	Banks are free to determine interest rates.
Rupee Loans in India against Security of the funds held in the account to : Account holder Third Party	Permitted Permitted	Permitted Permitted	Permitted Permitted
Foreign currency loans outside India against security of the funds held in the account to : Account holder Third Party	Permitted Permitted	Permitted Permitted	Not permitted Not permitted

Only account holders can avail of foreign currency loans in India against the security held in FCNR(B) Deposit Account.

Repatriation of NRO funds

Authorised Dealers can allow remittance/s upto USD 1 million, of balances in NRO accounts/of sale proceeds of assets on production of an undertaking by the remitter togetherwith a certificate issued by a Chartered Accountant in Annexure A and B as prescribed by the Central Board of Direct axes (CBDT). In the case of repatriation of sale proceeds of immovable property by NRIs/PIOs, ADs can allow repatriation thereof even if the immovable property was held by the NRIs/PIOs for less than 10 years provided the cumulative period of holding of the immovable property in India and retention of the sale proceeds of the property in the NRO Account is not less than 10 years.

Investment in India :

You can invest in :

Government Securities/Units with repatriation rights.

Company shares/Debentures with repatriation rights.

Shares/debentures of Indian companies through stock exchange under port-folio investment scheme with repatriation rights.

Indian companies without any limit on non-repatriation basis, freely.

For details please refer to Reserve Bank’s Notifications No.FEMA.20/RB-2000 and No.FEMA.24/RB-2000 dated May 3, 2000 as amended from time to time.

Immovable property

You can acquire –

immovable property in India other than agricultural/plantation property or a farm house, if you are an NRI.

immovable property other than agricultural land/farm house/plantation property in India out of repatriable funds, if you are a PIO.

You can repatriate –

sale proceeds of immovable property acquired in India out of your repatriable funds, without any lock-in period.

refund of application/earnest money/purchase consideration made by house-building agencies/seller on account of non-allotment of flats/plots/cancellation of booking/deals for purchase of residential/commercial properties, togetherwith interest, net of taxes, provided original payment is made out of NRE/FCNR(B) account/inward remittances.

N.B. - All persons, whether resident in India or outside India, who are citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Nepal, or Bhutan, require prior permission of Reserve Bank for acquiring or transferring any immovable property in India.

On return to India

If you decide to return to India :

You 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 you were resident outside India.

You may open, hold and maintain with an authorised dealer in India a Resident Foreign Currency (RFC) Account to keep your foreign currency assets. 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 utilisation of foreign currency balances including any restriction on investment outside India.

N.B. All the above facilities are available under general permission, i.e., foreign exchange can be availed of from authorised dealers and does not require Reserve Bank’s approval.

read-more