NRI Accounts in India

With the rate of the Rupee is declining, many people are hesitant about which is the best investment option to make. However, one of the most lucrative forms of investments that stand the test of time is real estate. Not only is this preferred by resident Indians but also by many Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) living in the country. It doesn’t even matter if the market is up or down, this type of investment is an extremely preferred one by many NRI’s who also live abroad.

 

However, before any investment can be made it is very important for one to have a bank account. This is especially important for NRI’s who reside in the country. Owing to the vast population of NRI’s in the country banks have introduced various attractive NRI accounts in India to open. These would include the NRE (Non Resident External) Bank Account and NRO (Non-Resident Ordinary) Bank account.

 

 They can be opened by a person of PIO (Person of Indian Origin) as well as an Overseas Indian Citizen (OCI).Both of these can be opened by NRI’s easily and both are known to be useful in different situations. These bank accounts can be opened as savings as well as current accounts and are Indian Rupee Accounts. While NRE accounts are opened for the purpose of storing overseas earnings remitted to India that are converted to Indian Rupees; NRO accounts are meant for India based earnings in Rupees in India.  

 

Both of these accounts are known to have their own benefits. An NRE accounts is completely tax free (i.e. no income tax, wealth tax or gift tax is levied). However, for NRO accounts the interest earned is subject to different wealth, gift tax and respective income tax brackets. NRE accounts can be jointly held with another NRI; not a resident of India. NRO accounts can be held with resident Indians (close relatives) or another NRI.