Difference Between A NRE And NRO Account

---

If a person is a Non-Resident Indian (NRI), he can open two kinds of account in India - a non-resident rupee accounts (NRE), and non-resident ordinary rupee accounts (NRO).

Here's the difference between a NRE account and a NRO acccount

NRE:

In this account rupee denominations can be maintained. The account can be opened in the names of two or more non-resident individuals provided all the account holders are persons of Indian nationality or origin.

Amount held in the NRE account are freely repatriable and you cannot send money by any other means except as remittance from abroad or transfer from another NRE account.

NRE account may be in the form of savings, current, recurring or fixed deposit accounts. Such accounts can be opened only by the non-resident himself and not through the holder of the power of attorney.

Taxation

Accrued interest income and balances held in NRE accounts are exempt from Income tax and Wealth tax, respectively

Currency

Account holder is exposed to the fluctuations in the value of INR.

NRO

NRO accounts may be opened or maintained also in the form of rupee denomination could be in the form of current, savings, recurring or fixed deposit accounts. The account can be held jointly by residents. You can transfer money into an NRO account from any account - even other individuals residing in india can transfer money into an NRI's NRO account.

Repatriation

Not repatriable except for the following:

i) current income

ii) up to USD 1 (one) million per financial year (April-March), for any bonafide purpose, out of the balances in the account, e.g., sale proceeds of assets in India acquired by way of purchase/ inheritance / legacy inclusive of assets acquired out of settlement subject to certain conditions.

Currency

Account holder is exposed to the fluctuations, in the value of INR to the extent of interest amount.

Interest rates

Banks are free to determine their interest rates on savings deposits under Ordinary Non-Resident (NRO) Accounts.

However, interest rates offered by banks on NRO deposits cannot be higher than those offered by them on comparable domestic rupee deposits. Tax is deducted at source in NRO accounts, unlike NRE accounts.

However, funds from NRO to NRE accounts can be transferred, vice- versa.

Why transfer money from NRO to NRE account?

First, to transfer money from NRE to NRO account, you would need a Chartered Accountants certificate. Secondly, there are some restriction on transfer from one account to the other. This is because, there are various tax advantages that you get under an NRO acccount.

Let us explain this with an example. Let us say that you kept a sum of Rs 1 lakh in a NRE fixed deposit account. What would happen is that there would be a TDS of 30 per cent of the interest amount. So, if you receive Rs 10,000 as interest a sum of Rs 3000 would be deducted as interest.

In the case of an NRE account, no such deductions would take place. This is why, you should always move money from a NRO accounts to a NRE account. Just check what are the requirements before you engage in succh a transfer.

For that you would need a certificate from a Chartered Account

While earlier there was no facility to transfer freely from NRE account to NRO account, now you can. As soon as you have balances in the NRO account, you should transfer money immediately.

It is extremely important to remember that if you are remitting money from abroad, please do so into a NRE savings account. This is because, there is no tax liability on a NRE savings account. There is a 30.8 per cent TDS tax on interest earned on NRO account. Of course, the TDS gets reduced when you submit a DTAA form.

In any case why should you pay taxes when the other account is tax free.

How to submit DTAA form to avoid taxes on NRO Account?

India has entered into Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with a host of countries that would enable you to avoid high TDS.

You need give a letter in the set format that the bank would have. Apart from this you need to submit residential proof of address and other details to avoid TDS on NRO Account.

As we mentioned earlier, there is no TDS on NRE accounts. So, as far as is possible try to move money from NRO to NRE accounts. There are certain guidelines that you need to follow in order to do the same.

Stay on top of NRI news with the WelcomeNRI.