Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Muscat: Non-Residents Indians (NRIs) in Oman have a couple of reasons to smile.
On the one hand they have to pay less for flight cancellation charges from August 1 as per the new regulation issued by the Director General of Civil Aviation in India (DGCA); on the other hand the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority has allowed NRIs to join and subscribe to the National Pension System (NPS) online through eNPS.
Indians in Oman welcomed the DGCA’s decision to revise the rules that cap ticket cancellation charges and bars airlines from levying an additional amount for the refund process.
“The decision to focus on the cancellation fee is a good one as most of the airlines take our money without any reason,” Bejoy Varghese, an Indian expat told the Times of Oman (TOO).
“This decision should have come earlier as many airlines charge as per their norms and rules,” Vijayan VK, who runs a business in Ruwi, stated.
“I am happy to hear this decision because it will help the common man like me,” Sreejith Gopi said.
In a recent circular, the DGCA in India directed airlines that the cancelation fees cannot exceed the base fare.
“There have been instances, where the cancellation fee exceeded the total fare charged and the passenger did not get anything when the ticked was cancelled,” a travel agent, who declined to be named, told TOO.
“Carriers should refund all statutory taxes and User Development Fee (UDF)/Airport Development Fee (ADF)/Passenger Service Fee (PSF) to the passengers in case of “cancellation/non-utilisation of tickets/no show,” DGCA stated in his circular.
“This provision shall also be applicable for all types of fares offered, including promos/special fares and where the basic fare is non-refundable,” the DGCA said.
These norms will be effective from August 1, according to the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) issued by DGCA Chief M. Sathiyavathy on July 12.
NRIs can now open an NPS accounts online if they have an Aadhaar card or PAN (Permanent Account Number) card, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority said in a statement.
Until now, NRIs could open NPS accounts only through paper applications by approaching bank offices.
NRIs will now be able to open NPS accounts, both on a repatriable and a non-repatriable basis.
“On a repatriable basis, an NRI will have to remit the amount through his/her NRE/FCNR/NRO account. For the non-repatriable scheme, NRIs will be able to join NPS through their NRE/FCNR/NRO accounts and, at the time of maturity or during partial withdrawal, the NPS funds will be deposited only in their NRO accounts,” the statement explained.
Both repatriable and non-repatriable schemes will “greatly appeal to NRIs, who intend to return to India after their employment abroad in view of their attractive returns, low cost, flexibility and their being regulated by the PFRDA, a regulator established by the central government,” the authority noted.
India has the second-largest diaspora in the world, with around 29 million people living in over 200 countries. Of these, 25 per cent live in the Gulf countries, according to the statement.
“NPS can provide a long-term solution to their old-age income security. NPS has been available to NRIs for some time through bank offices and now, to further ease the process of joining, eNPS is being extended to non-resident Indian subscribers,” the statement added.
