PIS vs Non-PIS · which route do NRIs need?

What it is, when you must use it

PIS is mandatory if an NRI wants to buy listed Indian equity from the secondary market (NSE/BSE) using NRE funds (and wants the gains repatriable). Each NRI can hold ONE PIS account, designated at one bank.

• One bank, one PIS: If you have NRE accounts at HDFC + ICICI, you can only designate one for PIS. All listed-equity buy/sell must route through that bank.
• Each trade reported: Bank reports every PIS trade to RBI within 24 hours. There's an automatic 10% cap on NRI ownership of any single Indian company.
• Sell proceeds: Land back in your PIS NRE account (if NRE-funded) or PIS NRO account (if NRO-funded). Repatriation rules apply accordingly.
• What's excluded: Mutual funds, IPOs, corporate bonds, ETFs, SGBs — none of these go through PIS. Use Non-PIS for those.

What it is, when you use it

Non-PIS is the regular trading account most retail Indian investors use. NRIs can hold one too, in addition to their PIS account.

• For everything except secondary-market equity: IPOs, mutual funds, corporate bonds, ETFs, SGBs — all route through Non-PIS.
• No PIS hassle: No 10% cap reporting, no per-trade RBI filing. Faster trade execution.
• Funded from NRO or NRE: Either works. Repatriability depends on funding source.
• Bank choice flexible: No "one Non-PIS per NRI" rule. You can have Non-PIS accounts at multiple banks if you want.

Both PIS + Non-PIS

You'll need both if you want to:

• Buy listed Indian stocks (PIS required)
• Subscribe to IPOs (Non-PIS required — IPOs are NOT secondary market)
• Hold mutual funds + bonds (Non-PIS)

Most modern brokers (Zerodha, ICICI Direct, HDFC Sec) handle both PIS + Non-PIS under a unified login. PIS comes via your designated bank, Non-PIS comes from the broker side.