64. OCI - Living and Working in

India

Q. Hello Mr. Chand, Thanks for the excellent service ! I am US Citizen & OCI with a PAN card, who took Transfer of Residence and moved back to India with family and kids a year back. Then I worked in a software firm for 7 months. Now I have relocated to another state and city in India. In the meantime I opened NRE & NRO accounts. I have the following questions for you : 1. can I work as an artist or musician in India and organize exhibitions and programmes to earn money ? 2. can the NRO account be used for commercial gains, if any, from (1) above ? If not, what kind of account needs to be opened for that ? 3. since I have changed address after moving back to India and getting my PAN card, which all agencies in India & US do I need to notify of my change in address ex : Income Tax Authority in India, US Embassy, IRS etc. 4. if I convert all my NRE funds into NRO funds to gain better interest rates on the deposits, and I need to send my kids to US after a few years for higher studies, would I be able to support them from here financially ? What should be done to balance a good return on deposits and funding education abroad in near future ? Thanks for all your help in advance. J Banerjee A. OCI card holders can seek employment in all spheres except - mountaineering, missionary and research work and other work requiring PAP / RAP. So I believe as long as you are not planning to organize exhibitions in Restricted or Protected areas you should be fine. In case you have doubts you should contact the Ministry of Home Affairs for clarification. Their office in Delhi is at, Jaisalmer House, 26 Man Singh Road. You should have no problems in depositing money earned in India into an NRO account. Changing address for your PAN is a simple process. Check the Online application for making changes to your PAN and follow the procedure mentioned in the form. US Citizens should register with the US Embassy so that they can be contacted in case of emergencies. You can register online or by visiting the nearest US Embassy or Consulate. If you prefer to register online you can do it from the US State Department's travel registration website I would hesitate to convert all my funds to Indian rupees. I try and not offer any type of financial advice but I strongly recommend that you speak to an accountant and your bank before converting all your money to Indian Rupees. You should take into account not only the rate fluctuation between currencies but also tax implications that come into play between NRO and NRE accounts. Remitting money from India for your children's higher education abroad has been relaxed quite a bit now and does not cause any problems as long as money is coming from legal channels. Check with your bank and they should be able to advise you better in this regard. Since you have returned to India and have been there for about a year, I would appreciate it if you can share your experiences with other NRIs who may be contemplating a move back to India. If you can spare the time please write back and let us know how you have adjusted to the Indian way of living, whether school admissions have be easy and so on...