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Month: January 2020

Tips for NRI Investment In Indian Stock Market
Tips for NRI Investment In Indian Stock Market

Tips for NRI Investment In Indian Stock Market

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As the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) has approved migrants with Indian passports to invest in the Indian Stock Market, their wish to invest in the Indian securities has become more prominent. But, being a deficient of NRI investment knowledge, they wonder how to get through the operational paperwork and procedures to sell and buy these securities. However, profit making is the primary goal that often pushes them to grab this investment opportunity.

So, here are a few tips that ensure non-residents to invest in the Indian Stock Market:

  1. Open a PIS account: Also called the Portfolio Investment Scheme, the PIS allows Indian diaspora in the foreign to acquire shares or convertible debentures from the stock market. For this purpose, they should have a bank account from a nominated branch. If they have an NRO account (Non-Resident Ordinary), the PIS account cannot be opened. It is so because this account, itself, is treated as an investment.
  2. Procedure for a PIS account: The aspiring NRIs have to open an NRE or Non-resident Rupee account with an RBI affiliated bank in India. With whomsoever you deal through, that broker should be registered with SEBI. Subsequently, the bank will issue a PIS permission letter to initiate NRE investment. Handover this letter to the PIS broker. Upon this formality, the migrant can open a DMAT/ Trading Account for investing with the broker.
  3. Put investment in PIS: As this account is meant for investment, the non-residents can hold the investment amount. If they buy some equities, the amount will directly deduct from this account. And, the sale proceeds will be credited.
  4. Trading & DMAT account: This account enables sale and purchase of securities in the secondary market. On the flip side, the DMAT account initiates online transactions of shares. When they trade, the shares are automatically credited to or debited from this account.
  5. Documentation: As an NRE account is required to trade in stock with, the Indian diaspora in abroad should have these documents for KYC that must be duly attested by the Indian embassy:
  • Self- attested photograph
  • Photocopy of the PAN card
  • A cancelled cheque from an RBI affiliated bank
  • PIS permission letter
  • Foreign address proof
  • Indian address proof
  • Photocopy of valid passport and valid visa
  1. Deploy Mandate Authority: A “Mandate Holder” is an authority that is deployed to locally operate the NRE bank account on behalf of the NRI investor. For it, the non-residents should fill up and attest an “Appointment of Mandate Holder” form. The intended person can procure it from the bank. Later, pass through the KYC by enclosing all the aforementioned documents together with the specimen signature of the mandate holder on the form.

Also, the mandate holder would sign it. Upon verification, the account will be active. Then, the mandate holder can withdraw & deposit cheques, transact and even uses an ATM card on behalf of the migrant.

  1. Power of Attorney (PoA): It determines the temporary deliverance of the power to act on behalf of the owner freely.  Beforehand, the owner must execute the POA on the prescribed stamp paper while clearly stating the purpose and aim of this POA. Thereafter, its holder can make and redeem investment, besides handling the necessary paperwork.
  2. Digital Investment: It’s a blessing to live in the digital era, where NRI investors can directly carry out all sale and purchase transactions without needing any POA. Digitally, it’s a frictionless process to trade through portals.

However, there are many websites and portals to trade through brokers for NRI investors. Upon registering with them, they can easily open their trading account with those brokers. Even, the maximum limit could be set for the mandate holders to debit certain amount.

But, the investment can be denied if the PoA is not notarized and the KYC is not done prior. Take time zones into account while making an investment using the trading websites.

Guidelines:

  • Prefer delivery based transaction.
  • Avoid intraday transaction for NRIs.
  • Don’t invest in the prohibited sectors.
  • Reconcile the DMAT account balance with the bank balance.
  • The bank will deduct PIS account maintenance charges in the name of PIS AMC fee, PIS Issuance fee and PIS reporting charges.

NRC
Why is NRC Being Opposed in Assam & Other Parts of India?

Why is NRC Being Opposed in Assam & Other Parts of India?

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Pan India is set ablaze. It is a spark of something unconstitutional happening here. Our mothers and sisters or daughters together with zillions of male protestors in Shaheen Bagh of Delhi and other part of the country are peacefully showing their apprehensions.

Certainly, the newly introduced constitution called NRC is the cause of their anxiety. The bureaucrats are going to link it with the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), 2019. The spokespersons of the Government of India frequently come with some confusing and contradictory statements, which has pressed every citizen to consider this matter seriously over and over.

What is NRC?

It stands for the National Register of Citizens or NRC. This constitution is planned to be launched all across India in the coming months.

What is in it that makes people so apprehended that they have come on the roads, amplifying their voice against it. Although it marks just a registration of those who are truly the citizen of this secular nation, yet it has some suspicions.

This bill was tabled to weed out all illegal infiltrators from here, as per BJP’s stance. But, a big community of civil servants has thrown light on some pertaining aspects, which fans the doubt.

First, the government has now decided to delink the National Population Register (NPR) from the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) that have been drawn from the amendments in the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship Rules, 2003 (framed by the NDA government).

If these registrations are to be null and void, why does census take place in every decade?

The census is an informational compilation about all residents of India, although, the names are not listed down. This is where the NPR comes into play. It consists of names of all those who have lived in India over six months, regardless of their nationality.

Proofs to present for NRIC:

On the other hand, the NRIC is a subset of the NPR. The Citizenship Act, 2003 was crafted to verify the details in that Population Register provided by the Local Registrar. This Registrar separately segments cases of doubtful citizenship and hence, conducts further inquiries. It is the case of Assam where this happened.

The base of this verification is the proof, which can be any of these:

  1. 1951 NRC
  2. Electoral roll(s) up to 24 March (midnight), 1971
  3. Land and tenancy records
  4. Citizenship certificate
  5. Permanent resident certificate
  6. Any government issued licence/certificate
  7. Government service/ employment service
  8. Bank or post office account
  9. Birth certificate
  10. Refugee registration certificate
  11. State educational board or university educational certificate
  12. Court records/ processes
  13. Passport
  14. Any LIC policy

The aforementioned documents won’t be acceptable if they could not be from a date later than the cut-off date of March 24, 1971 (Midnight). The dilemma of those who did not have any of those documents was also taken into account. Such people could show any one of the documents named in this list together with the names of their parents/ grandparents so that the connection could be identified:

  1. Birth certificate
  2. Land certificate
  3. Board/ university certificate
  4. Bank/LIC/ post office records
  5. Circle officer/ gaon panchayat secretary certificate in case of married women
  6. Electoral roll
  7. Ration card
  8. Any other legally acceptable document

The married women with no proof as mentioned above to show her family link can show:

  • Circle officer or gaon panchayat secretary certificate that need not be on or before the 1971 date
  • A ration card issued on or before the 1971 date

On these bases, the Local Registrar has been drafted a local register of Indian citizens. This is the very stage where the corruption will flare-up. The registrar would exclude and include the claim of being an Indian on the basis of money.  Even, the fear of being professed on the basis of religion is also surging up.

Checklist of Parents’ Citizenship:

The recent amendment in the NPR 2020 mandates:

  • The name of the parents of the residents
  • The records of their dates and places of birth

Those who won’t be able to provide these documents shall be introduced to the category of “Doubtful Citizens”, as per NPR 2020.

“If the NRIC is already in place to identify the “illegal migrants”, then why was the NRC 2019 needed?”- It is one of the primary reasons for the protest being sparked.

Another thing is that the 1985 Assam Accord foreigners are looking up to March 24, 1971 as the standard date for regularizing as Indian citizens. On the flip side, the citizens of the rest of the country who were born outside the country after January 26, 1950 will be a foreigner or an illegal migrant. Also, he has to be a subject matter of laws like the Foreigners Act, 1946, Passport (Entry into India), 1920 and tribunals. It seems that nearly 125-crore Indians have to reapply for citizenship.

Types of Attestation in India To Know Before Going Abroad
Types of Attestation in India To Know Before Going Abroad

Types of Attestation in India To Know Before Going Abroad

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Any legal paper achieves its value upon getting a signature/stamp on it. Also called certificate attestation, it can be interpreted as the lawful evidence that is credible enough to be trusted by any authority, let’s say PSK (Passport Sewa Kendra) officials or consul.

A stamp or signature of an SDM officer on the marriage certificate, for instance, proves the legitimacy of the copy of the original document. It won’t be accepted or recognized until and unless it ratifies the authenticity by the competent authority.

In short, your birth certificate, marriage or degree certificate or any other one won’t be accepted if it does not have any stamp from the concerned authority or officials. Sometimes, a certificate or document may require a stamp or seal or signature by more than one authority.

Basically, the legalization of documents is classified into these:

  1. Personal documents
  2. Educational documents
  3. Commercial documents

Reasons for Attesting Any Certificate:

Its reasons could be many, as serving a judicial purpose like opening a bank account or obtaining a visa. There may be a commercial proposition, like a business meeting or bringing a business at home, behind it. All in all, one can get a licence of being a genuine degree or certificate holder.

Who has authority to attest?

Well, the purpose defines which authority you are going to concern with for getting a seal of authenticity. Let’s say, you are going to join a multinational company in the USA. To verify your qualification, citizenship and commercial status, it is obligatory to get through attestation service by more than one department.

Mainly, the NRIs or aspiring NRIs require the stamp of legalization through:

  • Notary attestation– A notary public in the court puts a stamp of verification on various affidavits, degree certificates and other ones in his presence.
  • SDM attestation-Also called Sub-Divisional Magistrate, the SDM attestation is required in a few rare cases, like obtaining a CENOMAR/ marriage/ birth certificate from the local area. He is not subdued to the state government, as his portfolio is treated as a separate entity.
  • Chamber of Commerce attestation-As its name suggests, this kind of attestation serves verification of commercial documents, like proof of legitimacy of entrepreneurship and licence.
  • Home department/mantralaya attestation-It is meant for personal document attestation, like marriage certificate and death certificate.
  • HRD attestation-Being governed by the central government, the human resource development ministry puts the stamp of originality on the educational certificates, like Mark Sheet, transcript and many other ones.
  • Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) attestation- This stamp is the last one required for immigration. The MEA puts a sticker upon verifying all necessary documents sent.
  • Embassy attestation-The consul of the foreign country (where the candidate aspires to go) conducts a face to face round with the candidate before awarding him/her with the embassy attestation on the immigration documents.
  • (In few cases)Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) –It is one of the final verifications that are carried out upon passing through the embassy attestation. This is specifically meant to visit Gulf Countries, like UAE.
  • Apostille attestation-It is no different from the MEA attestation. The applicant can apply for it if he is migrating to the countries in the Hague Convention. Not all countries are part of it.

How long does it take to apostille a document in India?

Generally, it takes a month to get your documents apostille or attested in India. There are a few registered agencies that can be contacted to serve the purpose. But, you should deeply research before contacting any agency.

Fee

About fee, only the registered agency or the concerned authority could avail the appropriate information.

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