US based NRI's - How do you guys invest in equity now?

Q&A: Questions & Answers Portfolio Q&A
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Guys…please send the details to me also...ankur.barasia@gmail.com

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Its better that information is posted here, instead of everybody asking for it to be emailed.

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Hello All,

The above thread is more focused on opening the demat account for a NRI. However the crux of the discussion would be, after opening the demat account:

  1. How would one continue to invest in equities without violating any US or Indian tax regulations?

  2. The process of filing the tax within the US? (no need to declare tax in India, if the earning is only in Equities (please be aware of LTCG and STCG) and not earning from any other source

Point 1 being answered will eliminate many of our doubts/concerns. It would be helpful to get other hoarders view on this. Appreciate your time.

Thanks,
Manju

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Hi Manju,

I came to US in March this year and I tried to gather some information upfront. I hold ICICI Direct demat account and when I inquired about it they said my status will be changed from RI (Resident Indian) to NRI (Non Resident Indian) after 6 months and once that happens you need to come down to our branch and have your account changed to NRO.

Given the fact I cannot come back to India after 6 months just to get my account transferred, they didn’t provide me any alternates.

Regards,
Tejas

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Hi Tejas,

Yes, before arriving to the US, you should have opened an NRE/NRO account as that would have enabled you to send funds back home and you could have used that account as a funding mechanism for equity investment. I think you can still open an NRE/NRO account being outside India, please check with your bank on the same. May be your relationship manager can make this happen for you.

Also, please remember that while filing US taxes we need to declare these investments as the source of this funding came while you were earning here. More clarity on this is needed and am still waiting for some responses from my tax consultant. Good luck.

Thanks,
Manju

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ICICI Direct is also collecting Declaration on this aspect while you login into their portal.
respective individuals can contact Overseas branch of ICICIBank/Direct for more details.

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@Tejas you need to note 2 points i also encountered while i was in singapore.

  1. please check if your ICICI BANK account and ICICI Direct account(demat) is linked…
  2. Did you open New NRE/NRO account or changed only Resident account to NRO cause
    normal Resident account is tied up to Demat account inorder to convert either you need to de-link
    the demat account initially or continue use them with same link but inform Bank to furnish PINS account
    duly signed by you, that form would be submitted to RBI by Bank… you need to send form to Mumbai…

for further details please contact customer care office and also see instruction on ICICI bank website.

final word : you need not to come to India to do all this paper work… contact customer care they will help you… i got good amount of information through Customer care while i was in Singapore.

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@manjunath_kb

I will try speaking to my relationship manager in this regard. At that point when I was in India, they didn’t gave me that option to open the NRE/NRO account upfront. I am assuming it was because one can’t open such account unless they are having NRI status which would only after staying here more than 183 days.

@param77, my saving and demat accounts are linked since I was investing when I was in India. Though I haven’t done a transaction since I am in US for the same reason that I am not sure if it is allowed.

As you said ICICI Direct asked to me to fill up the declaration when I first time logged in to their website after coming to US (They automatically identified based on the IP address I assume).

I will try calling their customer center and update how it goes.

Regards,
Tejas

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I still hold RI account only. Haven’t got it converted to NRE/O yet.

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Below is the response i got from my brokerage:

Step 1: Kindly submit the attached Change Request Form (CRF) at any of the nearest Branch.

Step 2: CRF is duly signed by all holders.

Step 3: Attach your bank proof

(For e.g. Personalized cancelled cheque, non-personalized cheque with self attested Bank statement with latest transaction)

Step 4: Also attach self attested Identity proof (of all the holders if any)

Further, we would like to inform you that as per the compliance guidelines for bank change hard copy of all documents required. Request to kindly submit/ courier the documents to nearest branch.

** Sending hard copies of all the doc is the only pain here.
** we can open NRE/NRO account from India itself before travelling abroad by providing all the docs. ICICI allows opening from US too… I did that way too and it was pretty easy

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Tejas, declaration is mandatory for all ICICI direct customers, although i’m staying in India and my status have changed to Resident account still i had to fill the declaration… i had lot of reversal problems… since i used same NRO account and got converted to Resident account

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how long you intend to stay in US ? if its short visit you need not to worry you will fall under Resident status…no need to convert…if your stay is going to be longer… please contact your chartered accountant as this might clear the cloud… and you need to take care certain issues which are mandatory as per RBI guidelines you cannot transfer amount to relative and start investing in your parents account… as per guidelines amount transfered can only be a purpose of supporting family in India… to be safer side please dial your CA for more details.

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Thanks @bijoy_ajj that was very helpful. Somehow I didn’t get this information when I inquired to them. I visited a different branch than my home branch (Pune) actually not sure if that would have made any difference.

@param77, I thought the declaration was kind of because my change of location. But I believe you are right.

Thanks all for the detailed guidelines. It’s really great having you all helping with this regard. I guess for me next step would be talk to my relationship manager and talk about the process which you guys suggested.

I will keep posted about what details I get from my RM.

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@param77 I have plans to stay for another couple of years. Though it actually depends on how much I am allowed on work visa. I am on h1 visa which is currently under extension process which I am likely to get but will take another two months. So fingers crossed!

But can you suggest which one is better? Should I open a new account or convert my existing account to NRO?

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if you are going rule book which is quite difficult … as per norm they say once your Resident status changes " ALL " your Bank account needs to be changed to NRO account for the Taxation purpose and to avoid Forex transfer without the knowledge of Local authorities. it’s recommended you have parallel discussion with Chartered Accountant(CA) and Relationship manager as this will help you in long term.
Bankers only go by their rule book and statutory requirement which will protect them… if you have to fight all along to protect your interest best suitable is to have advisor (CA) …though you might spend extra bucks on this CA but you will have good sleep.

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That makes sense. I too was mulling over taking help from tax consultant in here but I need to find out about cost factor.

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@tejasc Mr Girish is right, If you are staying long in USA, it’s advisable to stop trading activity in the resident account, you may get notice From RBI for clarification. If you are frequently visitor to USA it’s ok. Most important part is , if your income is from USA and you transfer funds from NR to Resident for trading purpose, will be a problem.

Pranab

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Keep it simple by converting all NR accounts to Resident status. Your banker will help on this. But before converting NR Demat to resident you have to take clarification of service. If they know about the process of Transfer of Shares, will be a great help. Most of the time they stuck as lack of knowledge of transfer.

Opening NR Demat and trading is simple and easy but only take some time and you can open only by visiting India. By signing from USA nobody will allow to open the Demat and Trading. But Bank Account can be open.

Pranab

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Any idea if we can open NRO/NRE Account before going to US itself (i may travel in a month or so).I have ICICI 3 in 1 salary/demat/trading Account and as I understand savings needs to be converted to NRO and another NRE Account needs to be opened once i travel(for a couple of years).
For continuing Equity investments , I will need a PIS and associated demat with this NRE Account.
Also all mutual fund SIPs(In ICICI,HDFC etc.) need to be stopped but existing units can be held.
Am i missing anything here?

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@Anindya, You are correct