The following documents are needed:

• Form A2 along with a declaration form: As per FEMA, this is required every time the money is sent abroad, to declare the sum amount that is to be transferred. Your bank will file this for you within the LRS filings. Stockal automatically fills this for you - all you need to do is, make sure that the information is correct, then download the filled-in form, sign and upload it back for your bank to file.
• Bank KYC documents: PAN card and your address proof.

• US brokerage ecosystem recommends that every investor account should have insurance. DriveWealth, is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”) which currently protects the securities and cash in your Account up to USD500,000 of which USD250,000 may be in cash.
• Please note that this USD500,000 is not applicable to general losses in the stock market. SIPC says the following:
  SIPC protects against the loss of cash and securities – such as stocks and bonds – held by a customer at a financially-troubled SIPC-member brokerage firm. The limit of SIPC protection is $500,000, which includes a $250,000 limit for cash. A non-U.S. citizen with an account at a brokerage firm that is a member of SIPC is treated the same as a resident or citizen of the United States with an account at a brokerage firm that is a member of SIPC.
• SIPC does not protect against the decline in value of your securities. SIPC does not protect individuals who are sold worthless stocks and other securities. SIPC does not protect claims against a broker for bad investment advice, or for recommending inappropriate investments. Explanatory brochure available upon request or at www.sipc.org.

Stockal’s US brokerage and clearing partner, DriveWealth, works with Velox and Citibank for custodian services.

Your investing (brokerage) account is opened with our platform partner, Stockal and in the US your account is held with clearing services firm DriveWealth - regulated by FINRA and SEC. It is a licensed carrying and self-clearing broker offering brokerage services to global investors. DriveWealth is backed by Softbank Group and other leading venture capital firms in the financial services ecosystem. The custody of your account, in turn, would be held by DriveWealth one of their custodian partners. Let us know if you need more information regarding the custody of your account. You can reach us by raising a ticket.

• Currently, you can invest up to USD 250,000 every year in foreign stocks from India. This amount can change, subject to RBI guidelines. So, for now, your investments in US securities are also governed by the same limit.
• Foreign investments fall under clearly defined RBI guidelines. The remittance of money for foreign investments comes under the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS).
• Under LRS an Individual can remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year to invest in foreign equities through an authorized dealer (commonly, your bank). As per RBI policy, having a PAN card is required to purchase shares in foreign countries.

• There is no TDS (Tax Deduction at Source) for your stock market gains in the US. So when you make money and send it back to your Indian bank account, the broker in the US does not deduct any tax on it. You will have to pay Short-term Capital Gains Tax OR Long-term Capital Gains Tax in India, whatever is applicable. Short-term Capital Gains apply if a security is held for less than 24 months.
• A 25% TDS applies only on your dividend earnings. This is when stocks in your portfolio give out dividends to their investors.
• US and India have a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA). This means that you pay tax only once. For the TDS on your dividend earnings, you will get W-8BEN from DriveWealth. You can use it while filing your taxes in India to show that you have already paid taxes on this income. W-8BEN can be issued whenever you request.