Convert resident demat to NRO demat with HDFC

Hi,

I had a resident savings account and a demat account with HDFC Bank. I moved to UK in May 2018 and after 6 months asked HDFC to convert both resident and demat to NRO accounts. After 2 months of constant chasing and followup, HDFC confirmed this week that they have converted my resident account to NRO but for demat they have sent me tons of documents again.

My questions are:

a) is it possible to convert resident demat to NRO demat online or do I need to close my resident demat first, apply for PIS, open a NRO demat and transfer all my existing stocks to NRO demat?

b) Also, is there a timeline in which this should be done post becoming an NRI?

c) Are there any penalties if you keep trading using resident demat account?

Thanks

Hey @Udit_Gupta

It’s not possible to convert your resident demat to NRO demat account online. Not just at Zerodha, but with any DP.

There is no specific timeline as such. Ideally you need to do it once you become an NRI [i.e If a person leaves India for the purpose of employment, business or for any other purpose that indicates his intention to stay outside India for an uncertain period; then he becomes a non resident from the day he leaves India for such purpose or if you stay outside India for more than 182 days]

If you keep using the resident account it will likely cause an issue while filing IT returns. You may attract IT scrutiny.