How to move PF funds to NRE, NRO account?
I was an employee of an Indian IT firm from June 2008 to May 2022. I was in India from June 2008 to July 2016. Thereafter, I was transferred to Australia and worked for the same organization till May 2022. I applied for Australian citizenship in 2021 and got it in 2022. When I quit the Indian company, I got the PF/EPF statement from 2008 to 2021. I also got my Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card in 2022. Moreover, my Indian bank account has been converted to NRE (Non-Resident External) and NRO (Non-Resident Ordinary) account. However, when I try to withdraw my PF funds, it says the transfer of money can only happen into an Indian bank savings account.
My query is how do I withdraw my PF money as I don’t have a savings account in India?
You shall have to determine your residential status first for the financial year 2022-23 in the following manner.
You must meet any of the following conditions and both the additional conditions:
Conditions: a) you are in India for 182 days or more in the FY, or b) you are in India for 60 days or more in the FY and 365 days or more in the four FYs immediately preceding the relevant
In the above condition, the period of 60 days is substituted by 182 days for a citizen of India or a person of Indian origin, who lives outside India and comes to visit India in the said FY. The same applies to a citizen of India who leaves India in the said FY for the purpose of employment outside India or as a member of a crew of an Indian ship
There is also another rule of deemed residency. An individual who is a citizen of India who is not liable to tax in any other country or territory and has a total income, other than from foreign sources, exceeding ₹15 lakh during the said FY, shall be a deemed resident of India.
For a citizen of India or a person of Indian origin, who comes on a visit to India, the 60 days are considered changed in the following manner. If total income, other than income from foreign sources, exceeds ₹15 lakh, the 60 days are substituted by 120 days; in any other case, the 60 days are substituted by 182 days. Such persons are considered as deemed residents.
Additional conditions: you are a resident in India in two of the 10 FYs immediately preceding the relevant FY, and you are in India in the seven years immediately preceding the relevant FY for 729 days or more.
If you meet any of the first set of conditions and both additional conditions, you shall be considered a resident of India. If you meet any of the first conditions but do not meet the additional ones, you shall be considered a resident but not ordinarily resident in India. If you do not meet any of the first conditions, you shall be a non-resident in India.
Usually, PF receipts are allowed to be withdrawn and deposited to the NRO account. For this purpose, both your PF department and your bank may require you to do certain compliances. It would be advisable to give a person locally a power of attorney to meet the relevant authorities and ensure your amount is duly deposited.
