I have Just become an NRI, so How I can Invest in India now?
Congratulations to you, now you will be called a Non Resident Indian. NRI is also called Indian Expatriate and there are many considerations before investing in your motherland. Additionally, there are few aspects and key terms which NRIs should be aware of like Investment formalities, Repatriation, Taxation, appointing POA and few terms like FATCA, DTAA etc. You can find different kinds of Account and Formalities requirement for different Investment options from below table,
What to do with my Existing investment:
Now that you will be called NRI, you will have to follow one time formalities for NRI status change (From resident Individual status to NRI Status). You might have made certain investments as Resident Individual, where you are required to change your status to NRI along with various other Investment Formalities. Your Taxation will be similar to Resident Individual. You are required to consider taxation of your current country as well. Under DTAA, you will not pay double tax if you have paid tax in India. These proceedings do not require personal visit in India.
Whereas regarding signature and documents proofs like PAN Card, Passport, etc needs to be presented. Various investment avenues give you an option to do it online or through correspondence. For after KYC formalities, in certain investment options like Mutual Fund, NCDs, Bonds & IPO, you are required to be present. For further guidance you can approach your Advisor or distributor.
Who will look after my Investment, if I am not available in India?
For banking process, certain banks are providing Mandate Holder facilities where mandate holder is the Resident Indian relative of NRI. For PMS, your fund house will manage with your NRE|NRO bank for transaction. For Direct Equity Investment, appointed Bank and your Mandate Holder/representative will look after the formalities.
What additional precaution I have to take as an NRI?
As an NRI, once KYC is completed and approved, you are not needed any special formalities every time you make an investment. Any changes in basic Information like country, Demographic etc, need to be updated in the KYC.
Case: Mr. Krunal Sharma became NRI residing in Germany when he joined a MNC in January 2016. He already had some investments in Mutual Funds when he was in India. In March 2018, he visited India and wanted to start few more SIPs. He approached his advisor CONCEPT for this requirement.
As an Advisor, firstly we requested him to change the residence status under KYC procedure and then to inform all existing Mutual Fund companies about the same. Once he got an NRI status, he became eligible to start new SIPs. We additionally suggested him to build a balanced portfolio by introducing him to few different categories of Funds based on his risk profiling.
Additionally, as compared to Resident Individual, NRIs also have to manage the prevailing time difference between their home country and India to indulge in investment process. However, it is not that much important on daily basis, as NRIs are not allowed for Day to Day trade in Equity. Whereas considering other Investment avenues, there is no requirement to track them on daily basis.
Conclusion:
Summarizing that as a New NRI, you can approach investment in India with NRO | NRE account. Investment approach for where to invest will remain the same and common for both resident and Non Resident Individual. For further details NRI can approach their Advisor or CONCEPT for more Investment option available.
