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3. We have heard Shri. U. R. Timble, the Lr.

Advocate on behalf of the O.P.

4. The O.P. is one, namely, ING VYSYA Bank Ltd., as rightly noted by the Lr. District Forum in the first para of the impugned order. The Complainant had an account with the O.P. bearing No. 547010035697. The complainant did not specify what was the type of his account. According to the O.P. complainants account was a NRE account.

5. The complainant, an NRI, used to remit sometimes money in foreign currency to his said account. On 19/09/08 the complainant remitted through the National Bank of Greece a sum of US $ 10,000/- to the said account. The remittance was made with a request to keep the said amount in dollars and with a further request that, if any time the complainants wife required some money then some of it could be changed into Indian rupees. According to the complainant, he had also requested the O.P. that in case there was any problem with regard to his instructions, the complainant should be informed accordingly. This part of the story of the complainant has been denied by the O.P. The complainant has also not produced the email dated 20/09/08 sent at 8.33 p.m. but has produced an email dated 4/10/08 presumably sent by the complainant to his wife. According to O.P., as stated in the affidavit of Shri. Abhishek Baheti, the complainant had not given any other instruction except allowing his wife to withdraw the amount in Rupees.

6. The O.P. converted the said amount into Rupees and credited the same to the account of the complainant presumably at the prevailing rate of exchange i.e Rs. 45/- per US dollar.

7. Contending that the complainant lost conversion at the rate of Rs. 54/- per US dollar by not adhering to his instructions the complainant filed the complaint claiming an amount of Rs. 90,000/- with interest and Rs. 50,000/- by way of compensation.

8. According to the O.P., they had no choice but to convert the currency into Indian Rupees and credit the same to the account of the complainant and their action is bonafide and according to FEMA guidelines pertaining to NRE accounts.

14. Regulation 2 (ii) defines authorised bank to mean a bank including a co-operative bank (other than an authorized dealer) authorised by the Reserve Bank to maintain an account of a person resident outside India. Different types of accounts are defined as follows:

v) FCNR(B) account means a Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) account referred to in clause (ii) of sub-regulation (1) of Regulation 5;

vii) NRE account means a Non-Resident external account referred to in clause (i) of sub-

16. As per the guidelines issued by the RBI, an FCNR (B) account can be maintained in any freely convertible currency. A NRE account can be maintained in Indian Rupees and the balances held are freely repatriable. Likewise, an NRO account is also to be maintained in Indian Rupees.

17. We have already stated that the complainant did not specify what is the type of account he held with the O.P. and the O.P. has stated that the complainant had with them a NRE account which fact have not be disputed by the complainant and that being the position the O.P. was right in accepting the remittance sent by the complainant in foreign currency and converting the same in INR and crediting the amount in INR in the account of the complainant.