Banks can open A/cs for Bangladeshi nationals sans RBI nod

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank on Monday said banks are permitted to now open non-resident ordinary rupee (NRO) account of Bangladeshi nationals without its prior approval.

"...It has been decided that henceforth, banks would be permitted to open NRO account of individual/s of Bangladesh nationality without the approval of the Reserve Bank," it said in a notification.

The permission is granted subject to the conditions the bank should satisfy itself that the individual holds a valid visa and valid residential permit.

The RBI said banks should put in place a system of quarterly reporting whereby each branch of the bank shall maintain a record of the bank accounts opened by individual(s) of Bangladesh nationality and details of such account shall be forwarded to their head office.

The head office of the concerned bank shall furnish details of such accounts --containing the name, date of arrival in India, passport number, residential permit reference, name of the Foreigner Registration Office (FRO), and address and contact number of the bank branch where the account is maintain
ed -- on quarterly basis to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

However, opening of accounts by entities of Bangladesh ownership shall continue to require approval of RBI, it added further.

As per the extant guidelines, opening of Non-Resident Ordinary Rupee (NRO) accounts by individuals/entities of Bangladesh/Pakistan nationality/ ownership requires approval of Reserve Bank.

PTI