How to open a demat account in India?

DEMAT account is the short form of dematerialized account. It serves the same purpose as a bank account in the investing world. It is necessary for you to have one of these accounts if you are planning on buying or selling any shares in the Indian shock market. As you hold money in your regular bank account, you hold all of your shares in your DEMAT account. Every time you buy or sell a share using your DEMAT account, it is noted down as a transaction.

If you are looking to invest or trade in India, It is a requirement to open up a DEMAT account. Opening a DEMAT account is a process in itself. There are forms and documents that you need to provide. You will also need a PAN card number if you need to open an account. A PAN is a Permanent Account number allotted by the IT department of India. If you are an NRI, you can get one by going to: http://www.nripan.com/apply.html

The next step would be to find and download the necessary forms. If you do not have access to a printer, you can also find the forms at any bank or stock broker in which you would like to invest through. Most of the time, there are no charges to open up a DEMAT account with a bank. You will also need to provide a few documents supporting your ID proof and address proof. If you are from abroad, your passport copy will work best as a proof of Identity.

Now, you need to know the difference between a REPATRIABLE DEMAT account and a NON-REPATRIABLE DEMAT account. A Repatriable demat account is one in which you use funds brought from abroad or that you will use abroad. Any thing in a Non-repatriable demat account cannot be taken abroad.

There are a few fees involved with getting a DEMAT account opened. You will be charged transaction fees every time you buy or sell a share using the account.  There is usually an annual fee involved with keeping your account open for a long period of time. There are also maintenance charges that you need to pay to the company that you go through for keeping up with your account and taking care of everything. Generally, the fees are not high and pretty reasonable.

When you are looking to start investing your money into the Indian stock markets, a DEMAT account will be one of the first things that you will need to set up before you begin.