Handling finances becomes a tough job when a Resident Indian becomes an NRI (Non-Resident Indian). The major battle lies in managing the funds in India and abroad together. What if there is a need to send money to the overseas account of an NRI from his/her income generated in India? Let’s discuss this specific situation of repatriation in this article.
Repatriation: Understanding the Process
The process of sending money from India to the overseas bank account of the Non Resident Indian (NRI) in his/her country of residence is called Repatriation. Now, before we get into the entire process of sending money abroad and how exactly it can be done, let’s first understand where is the income generated in India stored in case of an Non Resident Indian (NRI).
As soon as a Resident Indian becomes a Non Resident Indian (NRI), he/she must convert their resident savings account into an NRE or NRO Account. Now, what are these NRE and NRO Accounts? Let’s understand..
Non Resident External (NRE) Account: A NRE Account is maintained for the purpose of parking the funds earned outside India. It is a Indian Rupee dominated account which means all the funds that you deposit in this account is converted into INR. It can be opened in the form of a Savings, Current, Recurring or Fixed Deposit. The principal as well as the interest earned on this account is completely and freely repatriable which means that you can transfer the funds in the NRE Account to your overseas accounts without any restrictions and taxes.
Non Resident Ordinary (NRO) Account: A NRO Account is used for the purpose of maintaining the income that is generated in India that can be in the form of rent from a property held in India or monthly income such as salary or pension etc. It is too a rupee dominated account but you can receive funds in both Indian as well as forign currency. It can be opened in the form of a Savings, Current, Recurring or Fixed Deposit. The interest earned on the NRO account is subject to TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) at 30% along with surcharge and education cess. But you need not worry about that. You can opt for a tax refund based on your income tax slab.
A basic overview of these two accounts make it clear that for NRIs who have any source of Income in India, an NRO Account is necessary for them to maintain these earnings. Which makes it clear that if NRIs want to repatriate their income in India, it can only be done through their NRO Accounts.
Repatriation: Tracing the Funds
Now, we must dig a little more into the various forms of income generated in India. The funds in NRO Accounts can be traced from either of these mediums:
- Income from property owned in form of rent
- Monthly Income such as pension or salary
- Income from any owned business or profession
- Income from interest on NRO Savings or Fixed Deposit Account
- Income from selling property in India
- Income from Investments through NRO Account such as Mutual Funds, Stocks etc.
Now, if you want to transfer funds from any of the above mentioned sources to your overseas bank account, you need to understand about taxation in India. Since NRO Accounts are used to maintain the income generated in India, the funds lying in these accounts are liable for taxes. The taxes on NRO Account are deducted at source at a massive 30% along with surcharge and education cess.
So, can a Non Resident Indian (NRI) send money abroad from their NRO Account?
Yes. You can send money abroad from NRO Account after certifying that you have paid taxes on the funds lying in the NRO Account. You can either send the money to your NRE Account and repatriate the money through the NRE Account or do it directly from your NRO Account.
There is a specific process that needs to be followed along with providing certain documents to successfully repatriate funds from the NRE as well as NRO Accounts.
The process of repatriation from NRE/NRO accounts are:
| Accounts | Process | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| NRE | 1. ONLINE: Internet banking for outward remittance (sending money to your overseas account from your NRE account) 2. OFFLINE: Fill these 2 forms. (You can get them at the bank branch or download them online, sign them and send them to the bank branch in India via courier in case you are abroad.) -Bank Request Form: Enter foreign currency/inr amount to be repatriated, beneficiary bank details (the beneficiary name can be same or different) -Form A2 (Form for remittance) | No Limit |
| NRO | All the following documents are needed to be submitted at the Bank Branch (in India). You can either submit it when you arrive here or download it online and send the signed copies to bank branch via courier: -Form 15CA (The purpose of this document is to ensure that taxes are collected on the funds before they are remitted abroad as it becomes difficult to recover taxes at a later stage) (Fill the form online on NSDL and print the acknowledgement) -Form 15CB (Certificate of an Accountant) (The Accountant fills the form and shares it with the account holder. The account holder then sends it to the bank via courier) -Form A2 (Form for remittance) -Request Form from the Bank (for details to debit funds from your account) | USD 1 million |
Repatriation of the income generated in India can be done easily if you follow the above mentioned process and certify that you have paid all the taxes liable on the funds in your NRO Account. A Chartered Accountant will help you with the certification of the taxation by helping you fill the Form 15CA (you can also fill this form) and Form 15CB (must be filled by an Accountant) for you.
You can get Tax Advisory from experts at SBNRI. We will help you with the repatriation of your income in India. Join the waitlist for the first of it’s kind mobile app. You contact us using the button below.
