Can NRI invest in Indian equities?
SBNRI Team
answered on 31/03/2020
Yes. NRIs can invest in Indian equities by investing their money into stocks listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. (NSE). To be eligible to invest into stocks, NRIs need to be a part of the Portfolio Investment Scheme* (PIS) that will allow them to trade stocks.
*(Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS): Through this scheme of the Reserve Bank of India, NRIs can invest in Indian Equities and purchase and sell shares and debentures of Indian companies on a recognized stock exchange)
The PIS Accounts can be opened at designated branches of all the major banks in India and through third party providers such as Zerodha to ease out your investments in shares. You either need to visit the designated bank branch in India or send the required documents to that branch in India or the third party providers like Zerodha via courier in order to open the PIS Account.
In order to buy shares, an NRI requires the following things:
1. A PIS Bank Account for that can be opened by applying online at the top banks or at third party providers such as Zerodha.
2. Dematerialized Account that holds shares in an electronic form that requires certain documents, which are:
- Proof of Identity (POI) (Eg.: Driving license)
- Proof of Address (POA) (Eg.: Passport)
- Proof of Income (For trading in derivatives) (Eg.: Copy of ITR Acknowledgement)
- Proof of Bank Account (Eg.: Cancelled cheque)
- PAN Card
- 1 to 3 passport size photographs
3. A Trading Account with a registered broker that requires certain documents (for both NRE/NRO accounts), which are:
- Indian address proof (not required in case of NRE)
- Foreign address proof (Mandatory in both cases)
- PIS Letter (issued by RBI)
- PAN card
- Bank Account Statement/ Passbook (Bank proof should indicate NRE/NRO saving a/c bank details)
- If NRE or NRO is not mentioned (pre-printed) on cheque, then a bank verification letter is required
- All the photocopies of the KYC documents should be attested by any of these entities: Notary Public, any Court, magistrate, judge, Local banker, Indian embassy, Consulate General of the country where NRI is residing.
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