Once your investments in the US generate returns, whether through dividends, sale proceeds, or both, there are rules about what happens next.

Under FEMA, money remitted abroad under LRS for investment is expected to be used for that purpose. When you sell an investment and the proceeds sit as cash in your DriveWealth account, FEMA expects that cash to be either reinvested or repatriated to India within 180 days.

In practice, rolling proceeds from one investment into another is completely fine. Holding a cash balance while you decide what to buy next is reasonable for a short period. The regulation is aimed at situations where the overseas account effectively becomes a foreign savings account, with idle cash sitting untouched for extended periods.

When you do want to bring money back, the process is straightforward. You sell your investments on Vested, the cash settles in your DriveWealth account in USD, and you initiate a withdrawal to your Indian bank account. DriveWealth sends a USD wire to your bank. Your bank converts the USD to INR at their TT Buying Rate, which is the rate at which they purchase foreign currency from you, and credits your account in INR.

Your bank will issue a Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate, or FIRC, for the transaction. Keep this document. You will need it when you file your income tax return.

A typical withdrawal timeline is 3 to 5 business days from the time you initiate the withdrawal in Vested.

Schedule FA disclosure

Every year that you hold foreign assets, including your Vested brokerage account even if it has only a small balance, you must disclose this in your income tax return.

This happens under Schedule FA in ITR 2. You report the country, account details, peak balance during the year, and the value of investments held. This is not optional. It does not depend on whether your account made money or lost money. Even a zero balance at year end but a non-zero balance at some point during the year needs to be disclosed.

Non-disclosure is treated under the Black Money Act, which carries penalties and consequences that are separate from regular income tax.

If you hold RSUs or ESOPs that have vested, those are also foreign assets that must be disclosed in Schedule FA, even if you have not sold them.