- The facility covers qualifying NRO balances, asset-sale proceeds and inherited assets.
- Current income may be remitted abroad separately after applicable tax compliance.
- Any person resident outside India may open an SNRR account, including through an IFSC in India.
The Reserve Bank of India’s amendment dated June 18, 2026, expressly permits eligible transfers from an NRO account to an NRE account or an SNRR account within the USD 1 million remittance limit. Non-resident holders can use either route, subject to the facility’s source and tax conditions.
The transfers draw on the same Regulation 4 facility as qualifying outward remittances. The amendment takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette; its commencement clause does not give a calendar publication date.
The change is set out in the RBI’s Sixth Amendment notification. It adds the NRO transfer routes to the deposit regulations.
Eligible NRO funds can move through either permitted route
The amendment allows an NRO balance to be debited for a transfer to NRE or SNRR, and permits an NRE account to receive a transfer from NRO. Both routes carry the limit specified in Regulation 4 of the Foreign Exchange Management (Remittance of Assets) Regulations, 2016.
The facility covers eligible NRO balances, proceeds from asset sales and assets acquired through inheritance or legacy. The source of the funds still matters. NRO-to-SNRR transfers must follow Schedule 3 of the deposit regulations.
The new wording makes the transfer routes express. Before the amendment, Schedule 4 prohibited transfers from NRO to SNRR.
Transfers and outward remittances use the same annual facility
The RBI’s remittance-of-assets direction identifies the ceiling as USD 1 million per financial year. NRO transfers to NRE or SNRR count alongside qualifying remittances sent abroad, so earlier use of the facility reduces the remaining amount available for another transaction.
An NRO-to-NRE transfer therefore uses part of the shared allowance. RBI rules apply the annual limit to transfers from NRO accounts, not remittances from NRE accounts.
Current income, including rent, dividends, pension and interest, is treated separately from the capital facility and may be remitted abroad after applicable tax compliance. Amounts above the facility require prior RBI approval. Instalments must go through the same authorised dealer.
People resident outside India can open SNRR accounts more broadly
The amendment removes the requirement that an SNRR account holder have a business interest in India. Any person resident outside India may open, hold and maintain one with an authorised dealer in India or a branch outside India, including in an IFSC in India.
The account may be used for permitted current and capital account transactions with people resident in India, as well as bona fide transactions with people resident outside India. Some transactions between non-residents involving SNRR accounts require the account holder’s instructions or mandate to state the purpose.
The amendment also removes several earlier operating conditions, including requirements tied to business-specific debits and credits, balances matching business activity and account tenure.
Banks need evidence of the funds and the holder’s undertaking
For an eligible remittance, the account holder should provide the authorised dealer with documentary evidence and an undertaking about the funds. Evidence may relate to the NRO balance, sale proceeds or inherited assets.
The undertaking must state that the money belongs to the holder and was not borrowed or moved from another NRO account. Applicable Indian tax requirements remain in force; the bank and tax rules determine the procedure.
The RBI’s deposit direction also says that a resident’s existing account should be designated as NRO when the holder becomes non-resident. Holders preparing a transfer should give their bank the source documents and undertaking, and address the applicable tax requirements before the bank processes it.
