Readers
Questions/Answers Page
Fifteen
 Information
provided is for general knowledge only and should not be
deemed to be professional advice. For professional
advice kindly consult professional immigration advisors
or tax consultants depending on your personal situation.
This website is a one person operation, Please spell
check your questions as I normally just cut and paste
questions from emails. Answers to most questions asked
are usually posted within five days. Answers are posted
on this website and no personal emails are sent. |
Email questions to: V. K. Chand at:
question@nriinformation.com
Answers are normally posted in five days.
Q: Dear Sir:
I have made a will and a power of attorney in US. I would like
to know if this power of attorney and the will is valid in India
regards,
Das
A:
I can't comment on validity of the 'will' you have made,
however if you have used an attorney to draft a legal will. A
legally drafted 'will', I believe should be acceptable
world-wide.
As for your power of attorney and its validity in India, you
should consider getting it attested at one of the Indian
consulate offices in USA so as to avoid problems in India. You
can find more information about what the consulate requires
regarding Power of Attorney attestation and the cost for this
service
HERE.
Duty Exemption on Cars for Returning NRIs
Q: Hello V.K.Chand ji,
This is Sharad from Melbourne, Australia. First of all I would
like to thank you for providing such vital information at ease.
I have a query in regards to Transfer of Residence. I am an
Australian Citizen and been here since 2003 and now moving back
to India permanently. Is there any way where I can take my car
to India with exemption from duty.
I have my car since July 2005. I will appreciate if you can
suggest of any way where I don’t need to pay the import duty
only if allowed as per Govt. Rules.
Kind Regards,
Sharad Tanwar
A: Unfortunately you cannot get an expemption from duty when you take your car to India on transfer of residency. Customs duties have to be paid. Visit http://www.nriinformation.com/carimports_nri.htm for more detailed information.
Q:
http://nriinformation.com/questions_four.htm - More on the same
topic but with a twist, thanks in advance, if you can answer
these questions! :)
My Mom was recently widowed - she has OCI status w/Cdn
citizenship. At the time of his death, my father was a Cdn
citizen also with OCI status. She is the nominee on his non-NRI
Savings A/C in INR and several FDs. The bulk of these inherited
funds were accrued by way of my Dad's pension & interest on the
FDs. She is now also entitled to receive his family pension in
India.
My questions on her behalf are as follows -
Does she need to open an NRO A/C to receive these funds and if yes, can this NRO A/C be opened with these inherited funds itself (originating in India)?
Does she need to apply for a PAN card (as an NRI) since TDS applies to interest accrued on NRO A/C? She never had a PAN card unlike my Dad.
Can these funds be repatriated to Canada in any way since they are by inheritance?
Is this repatriation possible with an NRO A/C on account of it being an inheritance as well as pension?
R. H.
-
Yes, your mother needs to open an NRO A/C and it can be opened with your mothers inherited funds. Speak to your Indian bank about converting your regular account that your mother presently has to an NRO account. Basicly the difference in NRO or an ordinary bank account in India is only that the account owners of NRO accounts reside abroad.
There is no stipulation that money generated in India cannot be deposited in NRO accounts. In fact NRO accounts are used to deposit money recieved in India by NRIs. -
A Pan Card will be required if your mother is filling income tax in India. For example if your mother feels that her income is well below the yearly allowed tax free income and has paid TDS on bank interest, she can file a tax return to get some of the TDS back.
-
Inherited funds can be repatriated provided they are first deposited in an NRO account. Pension and interest income on NRO accounts are repatriable. Your bank in India should be able to guide you.
Returning to India - Higher school fees for
NRI children
Hello Sir/Madam
I and my family are UK passport holders with OCI. We are
planning to move back to India in the next couple of months,
after having spent time abroad for over 10 years. I have few
questions related to the move. Your help to get this clarified
would be appreciated.
1. Can OCI start up own business in India? Is there any
restriction to registering company, funding the company etc?
2. As an OCI intending to live in India for the longer term, are there any additional costs that I would incur on a going basis. Am I bound to pay more for schools, hospitals, housing etc? Is there a reason for me to negotiate higher salary?
3. Our kids are 8 & 2 now. In the longer term, if they end up going to university in India, would they be eligible only for NRI quota? Or the fact that they lived in India for many years make them eligible for normal seats? What other practical difficulties could I face? Any info you can provide would be helpful
Thanks.
Sreeji Gopinathan
A: As an OCI holder you can start your own business in India and register your company following the same rules as local Indians. OCI holders are allowed to undertake all activities except mountaineering, missionary and research work. OCI holders cannot setup businesses in areas that are designated as protected areas or restriced areas.
OCI holders get Parity with Non resident Indians. I doubt if there is a law in India that nri students must be charged a higher fee. I think some schools charge extra for NRI students and there may be others that don't. So this would depend on the school you choose. Some schools clearly specify their higher fee structure. For instance here click HERE to see the fee stucture for The Doon School which is quite a popular school in India. You will find that NRI students pay almost double.
There may be many OCI holders residing in India and sending their children to schools without revealing their citizenship status. However to keep everything legal, if a school requires nationality information at time of admission, OCI holders should not hide their status.
As for what other difficulties you may face, all I can say is that there are a number of pros and cons to living in India after a long absence. It all depends on what ones expectations are. Life in India can be quite pleasant if foreigners living in India think like Indians and not like foreigners.
How to file a complaint against Banks in
India
Q: Dear Sir,
I moved from Delhi in 2007 to get married and live permanently
in Australia. At the time I had a fixed term deposit with the
ICICI bank. I decided to leave it in the bank till the money
matured on June 13th.2009.
What is the best and easiest way to now close this account and
get my money sent to my bank in Australia...I am having all
sorts of problems with the ICICI bank and are now not getting or
are ignoring my emails and letters even sent to the main office
in Mumbai. I have just last September opened an NRO/NRE account
on their advice but has not helped my situation. The amount is
----- inr in case you need this information. I hold a German
passport as well as an OCI and permanent Australian
citizenship...Could you please advise me on the way I should
approach this matter so I can retrieve my savings....Thank you
for your attention to this matter..
Much Regards
(Name withheld on request of sender)
A: The Banking
Ombudsman Scheme in India has been setup to resolve complaints
against banking services in an expeditious and inexpensive
manner
The banking ombudsman can also receive complaints from
Non-Resident Indians having accounts in India in relation to
their remittances from abroad, deposits and other bank-related
matters.
All Scheduled Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks and
Scheduled Primary Co-operative Banks are covered under the
Scheme, hence ICICI bank should also be covered.
In order to file a complaint you must first have proof of
contacting the bank with your complaint. People cannot file a
complaint without first giving the concerned bank an opportunity
to address their complaint.
You can file a complaint before the Banking Ombudsman if a reply
is not received from the bank within a period of one month after
the bank concerned has received your representation, or the bank
rejects the complaint, or if you are not satisfied with the
reply given by the bank.
You can file a complaint online also from
HERE
There is no fee for filling a complaint.
I suggest you let your bank know politely but firmly what you want to do with your money and your intention of filling a claim if you do not get a satisfactory response from them soon. Hopefully this may help resolve the problem.
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