Dubai: One of the most common queries among Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) is whether or not he or she will get fined if a regular Indian resident savings account is not converted to a non-resident account after moving away from home and settling abroad in a country like the UAE.
If you are operating a normal savings or current account while residing outside the country for a prolonged duration, you could be in violation of India’s Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) laws of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Let’s understand how.
Image Credit: Reuters
While there is no clear mandate concerning the legality of a NRI holding a resident account in India, what you should be aware of is that one should not hold accounts with different tax statuses. Meaning, you should either hold non-resident accounts or resident accounts but not both, tax consultants caution.