HomeCirculars › RBI/2007-2008/242

Master Circular on NRO Accounts (2008)

No longer current — withdrawn, no replacement on file yet
Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2007-2008/242 · issued 21 Feb 2008 · ~2 min read
Quick answerRBI consolidated all NRO account rules into Master Circular No. 03/2007-08, effective until July 1, 2008. It covers eligibility, account types, permissible credits/debits, remittances, loans, and change of residency for NRIs and PIOs, with a sunset clause for replacement.

What changed

This Master Circular consolidates existing instructions on Non-Resident Ordinary Rupee (NRO) Accounts as of January 1, 2008, into a single document. It includes a sunset clause, meaning it will stand withdrawn on July 1, 2008, and be replaced by an updated version.

What it means for you

For banks and authorized dealers, this circular provides a unified reference for NRO account operations, reducing the need to track multiple circulars. It clarifies eligibility, permissible transactions, and compliance requirements under FEMA, ensuring consistent treatment of NRO accounts across institutions.

Historical instruction — do not use for current compliance. This is what was required at the time; it no longer reflects current RBI requirements. If no replacement rule is linked above, that only means none is recorded on our register yet — it does not prove no later applicable rule exists. Confirm on the official RBI source below.

What banks were required to do at the time

Who it affects

Authorised dealers and authorised banks handling NRO accounts, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), Residents opening joint NRO accounts with non-residents, Foreign nationals of non-Indian origin visiting India

❓ Common questions

Regulatory timeline

Built from our lineage records — each fact carries its provenance; missing history simply is not shown (never guessed).

Who can open an NRO account under this circular?

Any person resident outside India, as defined in FEMA, can open an NRO account with an authorised dealer or bank for bonafide rupee transactions. However, individuals or entities from Bangladesh or Pakistan need prior RBI approval.

What types of NRO accounts are allowed?

NRO accounts can be opened as current, savings, recurring, or fixed deposit accounts. Interest rates and operational guidelines follow RBI directives issued from time to time.

What happens to the circular after July 1, 2008?

This Master Circular has a sunset clause and will stand withdrawn on July 1, 2008. It will be replaced by an updated Master Circular on the same subject.

📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
6.1 Remittance of assets by a foreign national of non-Indian origin A citizen of a foreign state, not being a citizen of Nepal or Bhutan or a Person of Indian Origin (PIO), who has retired from an employment in India, or has inherited the assets from a person referred to in sub-section (5) of section 6 of the FEMA; or is a widow resident outside India and has inherited assets of her deceased husband who was an Indian citizen resident in India, may remit an amount, not exceeding USD 1,000,000 (US Dollar One million only) per financial year on production of, documentary evidence in support of acquisition, inheritance or legacy of assets by the remitter and an undertaking by the remitter and certificate by a Chartered Accountant in the formats prescribed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes vide their Circular No.10/2002 dated October 9, 2002. 6.2 Remittance of assets by an NRI/PIO (a) NRI/PIO may remit an amount, not exceeding USD 1,000,000 per financial year, out of the balances held in NRO accounts / sale proceeds of assets / the assets in India acquired by him by way of inheritance / legacy, on production of documentary evidence in support of acquisition, inheritance or legacy of assets by the remitter, and an undertaking by the remitter and certificate by a Chartered Accountant in the formats prescribed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes vide their Circular No.10/2002 dated October 9, 2002. (b) NRI/PIO may, within the overall limit of USD 1 mio. as stated above, remit sale proceeds of assets acquired under a deed of settlement made by either of his parents or a close relative (as defined in Section 6 of the Companies Act, 1956) and the settlement taking effect on the death of the settler, on production of the original deed of settlement and an undertaking by the remitter and certificate by a Chartered Accountant in the formats prescribed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes vide their Circular No.10/2002 dated October 9, 2002. 6.3 Assets acquired in India out of rupee funds NRI/PIO may remit sale proceeds of immovable property purchased by him as a resident or out of Rupee funds as NRI/PIO, without any lock-in-period, subject to the above limit of USD 1 mio. per financial year. 6.4 Restrictions (a) The remittance facility in respect of sale proceeds of immovable property is not available to citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, China, Afghanistan, Iran, Nepal and Bhutan. (b) The facility of remittance of sale proceeds of other financial assets is not available to citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2007-2008/242 · issued 21 Feb 2008. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
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Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=3632&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.
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