Repatriation of Assets from India

Ever since you relocated to US, you decided to make it your home.  You are no longer able to maintain the house in India that you bought from your US earnings, nor are you able to wisely invest your monies lying in various forms in India.  As an NRI, you are keen to know if you can repatriate all of those back to US. Here is what you need to know!
 

• It is not only the sale proceeds of that house that you can repatriate, but a host of other assets[1].  These are deposit with a bank or a firm or a company, provident fund balance or superannuation benefits, amount of claim or maturity proceeds of Insurance policy, sale proceeds of shares, securities, immovable property (other than agricultural/plantation/farm houses) or any other asset held in India
   

• You can repatriate up to a total of US$ 1 Million in a year of all the monies you have in India that are in the nature of current income from your Non-Resident Ordinary Account (NRO).  Note the term ‘Current Income’.  Current income excludes loans and borrowings and typically includes interest, dividends, rents etc.
   

• Sale proceeds of house property is not current income, nevertheless it is expressly permitted under the rules[2] to repatriate the sale proceeds within the overall limit of US$ 1 Mn.  Note that this is available only up to 2 houses in your life-tim.

​

• You may note that remittances are possible only if you obtain a certificate in form 15CB from a Chartered Accountant in India that applicable taxes if any have been paid. 

​

• You need to execute a form for repatriation from NRO account and provide the necessary declarations!

​

• Bingo! Your money is now in your US bank account!

​

What if you acquired the property when you were a resident of India, or inherited a property from a person who was a resident of India and you want to sell it?

​

• It is not necessary that for repatriating the sale proceeds, you had to acquire the immoveable property only by remittance of foreign exchange. FEMA[3] permits you to hold, own and transfer Indian currency/Indian security/immoveable property situated in India if you acquired them when you were a person resident in India, or inherited from a person who was a resident of India. 

​

• You are permitted by regulations[4] to repatriate the sale proceeds of such a property within the overall limit of US$ 1 Mn subject to production of necessary documentary evidence of the inheritance and related matters

​

• In fact, these benefits are extended even to a Person of Indian Origin and you do not have to be an NRI.  Meaning you could be a foreign citizen and still get these repatriation benefits as long as you are a PIO. Check our Post on ‘Are you a person of Indian Origin’?

​​

What about foreign citizens who are not PIO?

​

If you have inherited an immoveable property from a person who acquired it when he was a resident of India, or you inherited from your deceased spouse who was an Indian Citizen-Resident, then you can repatriate up to the same US$ 1Mn per annum.  You have to however show proof of your acquisition/inheritance/legacy of the assets to your Authorised Dealer. 

​

The facility of repatriation is provided also to a foreign citizen (not a PIO) who retired from employment in India, and to a student who comes to India. In the case of a Student, the repatriation can only represent balances in his account derived out of remittances received from outside India through normal banking channels, or rupee proceeds of forex sold to an Authorised Dealer, or his stipend received.

​

Note that a foreign citizen other than an NRI or Overeseas Citizen of India (OCI) can never purchase immoveable property in India!  That’s the reason, there is no provision for repatriation of sale proceeds of immoveable property by a foreign citizen retiring from employment and a Student.

_________________________

Footnote

​

1. Reg 2(v) read with Reg 4(2) of Foreign Exchange Management (Remittance of Assets), Regulations, 2016

2. Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instrument) Rules, 2019.

3. Sec 6(5) of FEMA 1999

4. Reg 4(2) of Foreign Exchange Management ( Remittance of Assets) Regulations, 2016; Para 8.1 of Master Direction 12/2015-16

​

Source:  Foreign Exchange Management (Remittance of Assets) Regulations, 2016; Foreign Exchange Management (Non Debt Instrument) Rules, 2019; Master Circular 12/2015-16 on acquisition and transfer of Immoveable Property Updated on: 19 Nov 2022