Mutual Funds for Malaysia-Based NRI Investing in India

Many NRIs living in the Malaysia invest in debt and equity market for earning good returns. Mutual Funds are a great option to earn higher income when compared to traditional investments. The longer you invest in MFs the higher are the possibilities to earn good returns.

Usually, NRIs living in the Malaysia plan their long-term Financial goals like retirement by Investing in mutual funds in India. Investors living in the Malaysia who are planning for mutual fund investment, the first thing you always need to do before deciding on the fund is to- determine the time frame of the investment. For instance, if you require the money within three years or less call it as short-term. If you would redeem the investment between three to five years call it as mid-term and anytime above five years call it as long-term.

Malaysia-based NRIs who want to invest in Mutual Funds in India there are some of the important guidelines & rules that need to be followed in order to begin their investment.

Mutual Fund Investments for NRI Living in Malaysia

To invest in Mutual Funds in India one is supposed to open any of the following accounts with an Indian Bank:

NRE Account

This is Non-Resident External (NRE) account which can be in the form of savings, current, fixed or Recurring deposit. You need to deposit the foreign currency in this account. To be able to deposit Indian currency, you must open NRO account. There is no upper limit on the transaction amount in an NRE account.

NRO Account

The NRO or Non-Resident Ordinary account is in the form of savings or current account that is meant for NRIs to manage their income earned in India. In NRO account, foreign currency gets converted into Indian rupees after it gets deposited. An NRO account can be held jointly with another NRI as well as resident Indian (close relatives).

FCNR Account

This stands for Foreign Currency Non-Repatriable account deposits. In this account, NRIs can remit their earnings in one of the six currencies such as Canadian $, US$, Euro, AU$, Yen, and Pound. Funds can be transferred from other FCNR or NRE accounts. In FCNR, the principal and interest don’t accrue any tax.

Once you open any of these accounts, you need successfully complete your KYC (Know Your Customer), under KYC norms, which is set by SEBI (Securities Exchange Board of India). One can complete their KYC with any of the SEBI-registered intermediates.

KYC Procedure for NRI to Invest in Mutual Funds

To successfully complete your KYC procedure, Malaysia based-NRIs need to complete certain important steps and furnish documents like:

a. KYC Form

An NRI needs to submit the KYC Form with all the necessary details filled to the SEBI registered intermediate. The documents can be sent by courier/post to the intermediate.

b. Documents

Following are the necessary documents that need to be submitted:

• Overseas address proof
• Indian resident address proof
• A recent photograph
• Passport copy

In case of NRIs in the Merchant Navy, a mariner’s declaration or certified copy of Continuous Discharge Certificate must be submitted.

c. Attestation

NRIs or PIOs (Person of India Origin) can get the above documents attested by the authorised officials of overseas branches of scheduled commercial banks registered in India, judge, court magistrate, public notaries, or the Indian embassy/consulate general in the country that they are located.

d. In Personal Verification (IPV)

As per SEBI rules, IPV is mandatory for KYC process. The intermediate should conduct the IPV of NRIs/PIOs.

Please note that all the above documents/proofs while submitting should be in the English language.

Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Mutual Fund Taxation

Capital Gains Tax Rates on NRI Mutual Fund Investments for the Financial Year 2017-18 (Assessment Year 2018-19) are as below:

NRI taxation on Mutual Funds- Capital Gains Tax Rates- FY 2017/2018 (AY- 2018-19)

Mutual Fund Taxation on Dividends

• Dividends on Equity Funds: The dividend received in the hands of unit holder for equity funds is completely tax-free. The dividend is also tax-free to the AMC.

• Dividends on Debt Funds: The AMC has to pay a dividend distribution tax (DDT) of 28.84% before distributing this dividend income to its unit-holders. The dividend income received by a debt fund unit holder is also tax-free.

Below is the TDS rate applicable on MF redemptions by NRIs for AY 2018-19.

NRI Taxation on Mutual Funds- Capital Gains Tax Rates- FY 2017/2018 (AY- 2018-19)

Best Mutual Funds to Invest for Malaysia Based-NRIs