PINS or Portfolio Investment (NRI) Scheme is another name for the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) Account. This particular PINS Account for NRI enables them to buy and sell shares and convertible debentures of an Indian firm on a recognized stock exchange. The PINS Account is used to route all the transactions of NRIs in listed securities via a designated bank branch that is responsible for maintaining and reporting NRI Investments to the RBI.
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What is a PINS Account?
- The Portfolio Investment Scheme (PINS) account holds the investment amount of the NRI.
- The purchases are directly debited from this account, and the earnings are credited to the account.
- The PIS permission letter is required for opening a demat (for holding stocks in electronic form) and trading account (account with a registered broker for trading in the market) that is issued by the banks.
- PIS Bank Accounts are essential for investment in the secondary market (stock market) as they are used to maintain and track the investment caps for NRIs as established by the Reserve Bank of India. (An NRI can not invest more than 10% of the paid-up value of shares of an Indian Company)
- NRIs can purchase and sell shares and debentures of Indian companies on a recognized stock exchange using their PIS Accounts.
Also Read: Indian Stock Market: NRI Investment in India in 2022
NRI PINS and NON-PINS Account
- NRI PINS Account: NRI PINS Account is the bank account that has been enabled after approval from RBI. After opening an NRI Account, the account holder has to submit the PINS Application form to the bank for designating the NRI Bank Account as a PINS Account. These accounts can be operated on both repatriable (in case of NRE) and non-repatriable basis (in case of NRO).
- NRI NON-PINS Account: A Non-PINS account is a normal NRI Savings Account without the PIS permission from the RBI. The transactions from these accounts aren’t reported to the RBI unlike the NRI PINS Account.
Note: The Non-PINS Account is used to sell shares that are not allowed under PINS i.e. shares bought when the NRI was a Resident Indian. Shares acquired under IPO or received as a gift or bought as resident Indian can be sold under Non-PINS account.
Can I open a PINS Account at Zerodha?
The PINS Accounts can be opened at designated branches of all the major banks in India and through third party providers such as Zerodha or ICICI Direct to ease out your investments in shares in India.
How? 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 PINS Account.
NRI 3-in-1 Account: What is it and how is it beneficial?
NRIs can opt for a 3-in-1 account that consists of 3 separate accounts that can be opened together.
These accounts include:
- A PINS enabled Bank Account (a normal bank account where your money resides),
- A Trading Account (a share broker account which allows you to trade in equity, F&O etc. segments) and,
- A Demat account (it holds the equity shares purchased by you)
The process to open the 3 in 1 account is simple:
- Visit the bank website or third-parties (for example Zerodha) that provide the 3 in 1 account facility
- Enter your details and download the application form
- Fill the form and sign it. Attach the required documents and send it to the mentioned address. The required documents are:
- Copy of valid passport (pages with your name, address, date of birth, date and place of issue, expiry date, photograph, address, signature)
- Proof of NRI status (by way of valid Employment/Residence Visa copy or Work/Residence Permit)
- Copy of Indian PAN card
- Proof of Overseas and Indian Address
- Recent passport size colour photograph
Also Read: Best Investment Options in India: Top 5 Picks of the year 2022
Note: A Demat account is not mandatory for NRIs to invest in mutual funds in India. NRIs can download SBNRI App to choose from 3000+ mutual fund schemes in India or to ask any questions related to mutual fund investment.
NRI Stock Trading in India
As an NRI, trading in the Indian Stock Market isn’t hard. You need to be aware about the right mediums of investments and it all becomes seamless. At SBNRI, we guide you step by step through the end to end process. Click on the button below to get in touch with our investment expert for effortless NRI Stock Trading in India. Also, visit our blog and YouTube Channel for more details.
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FAQs
Non-PINS is an account for which the transactions are not reported to RBI while reporting of transactions are done for PINS Account.
No, as an NRI you can purchase shares in the primary market on repatriable/non repatriable basis and application money can be paid through regular NRE SB/NRO SB Account or through inward remittance. However, for trading in the secondary market, a PIS Account becomes mandatory for an NRI.
The RBI guidelines require NRI to open a ‘single designated’ account (NRE/NRO account) under the PIS for routing investments in the Indian stock market. Based on these guidelines, some banks like Axis Bank, HDFC Bank do not allow NRIs to open PIS as a joint account. Few other banks like ICICI and SBI offer to open a PIS account with a joint holder, however, the monitoring of transactions is done only for the main applicant.
While an NRI can have any number of Trading & Demat accounts, he/she can not have more than 2 PIS Bank Accounts (1 PIS with NRO status and 1 PIS with NRE status).
A repatriable demat account is an NRI demat account linked with an NRE bank account. All the proceeds from selling securities and profits from investments that are credited to the NRE bank account can be transferred abroad.
In the past, PIS was must for NRIs to invest in Indian equity stocks. However, now NRIs can buy and hold equity shares, convertible debenture, warrants, or units, etc. on a non-repatriation basis. NRI trading through NRO accounts will be considered a domestic investment at par with investments made by residents. So, to invest in Indian equity stocks on a non-repatriation basis, NRIs don’t need to get a PIS permission letter.
No. A PIS account can’t be held jointly.
An NRO Non-PIS account is similar to a resident saving bank account and can be opened by an NRI or OCI. NRIs can open as many NRO accounts as they want.
With a PIS account, NRIs can trade in shares of an Indian company on repatriation as well as non-repatriation basis on stock exchanges.
Yes, you can set-off losses on NRO PIS transactions against the future profits on NRE PIS transactions or vice-versa, under the enhanced set-off facility provided at portfolio level during the financial year.
