Do you need to get a PAN card if you are an NRI? Is there a way you can get a PAN card without going to India? What procedures you should follow to obtain a PAN? If these questions have been playing on your mind lately, read on to find out more about PAN for NRIs.

The equivalent of your social security number or an essential to invest in the Indian capital market, a PAN is an important account you must have.

So what is a PAN? Your PAN or Permanent Account Number is a 10 digit alpha-numeric number issued by an assessing officer of the Income Tax Department. Most NRIs don’t have a PAN but it’s advisable to obtain one so you can furnish it when necessary. You will need your PAN for property deals, opening bank accounts, demat accounts, investing in Indian markets, sale of property, claiming refunds on TDS, and also to get a telephone connection in India.

Get your PAN for an easy Indian investment experience!

A recent SEBI order states that investors without a PAN cannot trade by the depository, depository participant, or a broker. So if you’re keen on investing in India, make sure you have your PAN.

Here’s what your PAN card contains:

• A unique 10 digit alpha-numeric number
• Your name
• Your photograph
• Your date of birth
• Your father’s name
• Your signature

You can apply for your PAN card based on your passport as proof of identity and residence. Today you can get your PAN card with a simple click of your mouse. That’s right, you don’t even have to make a trip to India to apply for PAN!

You can easily download the PAN form from the internet, fill it up, attach the supporting documents, and send it to your relatives/friends back in India who can forward it to the IT Department. Your PAN card will be delivered to your address within 2 months.  If you are in one of the 99 countries for which foreign delivery addresses are accepted then you can apply online and send documents direct to the department. But this printed form and documents must reach them in 15 days of online submission, which may be a challenge.

Source : Window2India

India’s external debt stock, as at the end of September this fiscal, stood at $190.5 billion (Rs. 757,967 crore), showing an increase of about $9.9 billion or 5.5 per cent over the previous quarter ending June 2007.Of this, around $5 billion is explained by valuation change arising out of the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the rupee and major international currencies.

According to an official statement here on Monday, external debt stock in dollar terms during April-September 2007, rose by $21 billion (12.3 per cent).

Of this, $7 billion is accounted for by the depreciation of the U.S. dollar in the international market.

In rupee terms, the increase in external debt during the period under review was only about 2.4 per cent which works out to Rs. 17,868 crore. The increase in external debt was essentially brought about by a rise in external commercial borrowings, NRI deposits, multilateral debt and short-term debt, the statement said.

The share of long-term debt in the total external debt at end-September this year was 83.8 per cent or $159.7 billion.

Component-wise, under the long-term debt, multilateral and bilateral debt increased by $1 billion and $80 million to $37.1 billion and $16.7 billion, respectively. Export credit outstanding showed an increase of $80 million to touch $8.5 billion, the statment added.

Commercial borrowings

The stock of commercial borrowings at $51.8 billion and non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits at $43.6 billion were higher by $4 billion and $1 billion, respectively, as compared to those at the end of the preceding quarter. Rupee debt remained broadly at the same level of about $2 billion as at the end of the previous quarter. Commercial borrowings accounted for the highest share of 27.2 per cent in total external debt outstanding at end-September 2007, and NRI deposits 22.9 per cent followed by multilateral debt at 19.5 per cent and bilateral debt at 8.7 per cent.

Export credit and rupee debt accounted for 4.5 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.

FII investment

In respect of short-term debt, the coverage, the statement said, had been made more comprehensive, with the inclusion of suppliers’ credits up to six months and investment by foreign institutional investors (FII) in short-term debt instruments

As at the end of September this year, short-term debt stood at $30.8 billion, accounting for 16.2 per cent of the total external debt.

The total external debt at end-September 2007, when considered in terms of sovereign debt ($51.3 billion) and private debt ($139.2 billion), was in the ratio of 26.9:73.1, it added.

While the foreign exchange reserves cover for external debt rose to 130 per cent at end-September this year, debt servicing as a proportion of gross external current receipts (debt-service ratio) declined from 9.9 per cent in 2005-06 to 4.8 per cent in 2006-07 and further to 4.5 per cent during April-September 2007.

The major currency of denomination in India’s external debt portfolio continued to be the U.S. dollar, accounting for 52.8 per cent of total external debt till the end of September, the official statement said.

-Hindu

India’s current account deficit shrunk to $5.5 billion in July-September 2007 as remittances by non-residents offset rising oil prices, higher import bill and slower growth in software exports. The overall balance of payments (the country’s external sector balance sheet) rose to a record surplus $29.2 billion during the same period.

According to the preliminary figures released by RBI, the current account deficit narrowed to $5.5 billion from $6.2 billion a year ago. However, due to a capital account surplus (on the back of FII and ECB inflows) of $33.9 billion ($8.8 billion), the overall balance of payments ended in a record surplus of $29.2 billion ($2.3 billion) during July-September 2007.

According to Amit Tandon who heads Fitch Ratings in India, going forward, however, one has to be watchful of the trade deficit while at this juncture it is difficult to estimate whether the strong numbers for remittances and FII inflows or ECBs will continue. While the current account records transactions against purchase of goods and services or income from a service, capital account inflows are investments or debt-creating flows and are more volatile in nature.

The balance of payments is the sum of the current and capital account transactions in a given period.
In the current account, net invisibles (items such as software, travel & tourism income and remittances by the Indian Diaspora) ended in a surplus of $16.5 billion as against $10.6 billion in the second quarter in 2007. This was due to strong growth in remittances by overseas Indians, which is reflected under the head ‘private transfers’. Private transfers during the quarter rose to $10.1 billion — almost twice of $5.4 billion a year ago.

The trade balance during the period has worsened with imports growing much faster than exports. Exports during the quarter rose to $37.9 billion from $31.8 billion a year ago, but imports during the quarter were even higher amounting to $59.6 billion as against $48.6 billion in the same period a year ago. As a result, the trade deficit widened to $21.7 billion from $16.7 billion.

In the capital account, foreign inflows through the portfolio investment ended up being higher during the quarter. While net FDI inflows were marginally lower at $2.1 billion ($2.9 billion), net portfolio investment went up steeply to $10.8 billion ($ 2.2 billion). Net inflows through external commercial borrowings were also higher at $3.6 billion ($1.7 billion). As for short-term credit, net inflow amounted to $3.6 billion as against the net inflow of $2.6 billion in the same period a year ago.

RBI in its latest release has incorporated certain revisions in line with best international practices. The revisions for financial years 2005-06 and 2006-07, now among other things, take into account the issue of potential overlap between business services and software services.

Besides, suppliers’ credit (credits for financing imports into India extended by the overseas supplier) up to 180 days was not covered explicitly in India’s balance of payments. These data were implicitly included in the capital account under the heads ‘other capital not included elsewhere’ and the ‘errors and omissions’. Now, these data are covered as a part of short-term trade credit to India with effect from financial year 2005-06 in the standard format of the balance of payments presentation and from end-March 2005 under the external debt.

-India Times