Any person resident outside India, having a business interest in India, may open a Special Non-Resident Rupee Account (SNRR Account) with Canara Bank for the purpose of putting through bona fide transactions in rupees, not involving any violation of the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, rules and regulations made thereunder. It is a non-interest bearing Current Account denominated in INR.

• Minimum Balance: Nil
• Repatriation: The balances in the SNRR account shall be eligible for repatriation.
• Centralized Processing: All SNRR accounts transactions are processed by a dedicated team of officials located at Canara Bank GTPC (Global Trade Processing Centre).

• Type of SNRR Account offered by us: Current Account.
• Designated Currency: INR only.
• Nomination Facility: Available.
• Internet Banking Facility: Viewing facility available through Internet Banking along with FX4U Net Banking Utility.
• Change in Residential Status: SNRR account may be designated as resident rupee account on the account holder becoming a resident.
• Service Charges: As applicable to Current Account and the underlying transactions.

• Non-interest bearing Current Account

• Tenure: The tenure of the SNRR account shall be concurrent to the tenure of the contract/ period of operation/ the business of the account holder and in no case should exceed seven years. Approval of the Reserve Bank shall be obtained in cases requiring renewal. However, the restriction of seven years shall not be applicable to SNRR accounts opened by person resident outside India for the following purposes:
  • Investments made in India in accordance with Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules and related Regulations.
  • Export/Import of goods and services.
  • Trade credit transactions and lending under External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) Framework.
  • Business related transactions outside International Financial Service Centre (IFSC) by IFSC units.
• All transactions in the SNRR account will be subject to payment of applicable taxes in India
• The debits/credits and the balances in the account shall be incidental and commensurate with the business operations of the account holder.
• Fund Transfer: Transfers from any NRO account to the SNRR account are prohibited.
• Transactions under the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS) are not permitted to be routed through the SNRR account.
• The operations in the SNRR account shall not result in the account holder making available foreign exchange to any person resident in India against reimbursement in rupees or in any other manner.
• Joint Account: The SNRR Account is a business account and, in that perspective, holding the account jointly with another non-resident individual only arises if business is owned/operated jointly.
• Operations by Power of Attorney (PoA) holder: SNRR account is not allowed to be operated by Power of Attorney holder, however SNRR accounts of FPIs, FVCIs and Depository Receipt/ FCCB converted accounts are allowed to be operated by a custodian.

• Application in the Banks’ prescribed form
• Identity proof, business proof and any other relevant documents related to business / profession
• Specimen Signature Card
• Photographs of depositor
• Undertaking for opening the SNRR account

Q1. What are the purposes for which SNRR account can be opened?

Ans. Any person resident outside India, having a business interest in India, may open a Special Non-Resident Rupee Account (SNRR account) with an authorized dealer for the purpose of putting through bona fide transactions in rupees. The business interest, apart from generic business interest, shall include the following INR transactions, namely:

• Investments made in India
• Import of goods and services
• Export of goods and services
• Trade credit transactions and lending under External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) framework
• Business related transactions outside International Financial Service Centre (IFSC) by IFSC units at GIFT city like administrative expenses in INR outside IFSC, INR amount from sale of scrap, Government incentives in INR, etc.

Q2. Who are eligible to open SNRR account?

Ans. Any person resident outside India, having a business interest in India (i.e., Non-Resident Individual, Non-Resident Companies, PIOs, OCIs, etc.) can open SNRR account. However, opening of SNRR accounts by Pakistan and Bangladesh nationals and entities incorporated in Pakistan and Bangladesh require prior approval of Reserve Bank of India.

Q3. Whether SNRR to SNRR A/c transfer permitted?

Ans. Only between SNRR A/Cs of same non-resident person for the purpose for undertaking different categories of transactions such as trade, ECB, Trade credits, etc. Such transfers will not form part of FETERS reporting.

Q4. Whether interest can be earned on SNRR balances or through term deposit?

Ans. No.

Q5. Whether the funds available in SNRR account are eligible for repatriation?

Ans. The balances in the account shall be eligible for repatriation subject to payment of taxes due in India.