It is important for an NRI to pay attention to factors like the legitimacy of land, compliances to be followed during construction, environmental clearances, etc., at the time of a property purchase. As real estate is a state subject, laws may differ from state to state and there is, therefore, no one-size-fits-all response.

Before buying such a property, the NRI should ideally consult a lawyer to examine all the legal documents and verify their authenticity. They must also check whether the project is registered under the respective state RERA and whether or not it is fully RERA-compliant. However, many Indian states and Union Territories still do not have a functional RERA website, and this is where the services of a reputed real estate consultancy can be invaluable to save on time and effort, and ensure that all the boxes are ticked.

The laws are quite lenient but have some provisos.

There is no restriction on NRIs for repatriating rental income or even property sale proceeds (other than agricultural land, a farmhouse and plantation property) as long as the total proceeds are within the set limit of USD1 million in a fiscal year.

The conditions are:

The property being sold was acquired as per the foreign exchange regulations applicable during that period.

– The amount being repatriated cannot exceed the cost of the sale proceeds from the transaction.

– The sale proceeds from a maximum of two residential properties can be repatriated.

– The maximum amount of repatriated funds from a Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) account is capped at $1 million per fiscal year.

– Funds can be repatriated only after settling all the applicable taxes and other charges.

If the property was purchased with money received from inward remittance or debit to NRE/FCNR/NRO account, the entire principal amount can be repatriated outside India immediately while the balance must be deposited in an NRO account.

To start the repatriation process, the NRI must get a certificate from a Chartered Accountant (CA) in India, issued in Form 15CB. The form can be downloaded easily from the Indian government tax website. This form verifies that the money acquired was via legal channels and all due taxes have been paid. The CA verifies and signs the form.

The next step is to fill Form 15CA which can also be downloaded from the same website. The form must be filled and submitted online, after which a system acknowledgement number is automatically generated and displayed. The NRI must print out the filled undertaking of Form 15CA displaying the system-generated acknowledgement number, and sign it.

The final step is to take the signed undertaking along with the CA certificate on Form 15CB to the bank where one has an NRO account. The concerned bank will check the forms and transfer the money abroad (up to $1 million in an FY). Apart from these forms, the bank will also ask for a copy of the sale document of the property. If the property has been inherited, the bank will ask for the Will copy, legal heir certificate, and death certificate of the person on whose death the property was inherited.

Take advantage of the moratorium period: Announcing major relief to home loan borrowers in the aftermath of the Covid-19, the RBI on March 27, 2020, deferred EMI payments under a three-month moratorium period apart from bringing down the repo rate to a record low of 4.4%. The Reserve Bank of India announced a major relief for home borrowers after Kovid-19, and on March 27, 2020, the EMI deferred payments for a period of three months, except for the reduction of the Remo rate by one month. The record low is 4.4%. Because the the moratorium is from March 1 to May 31, you have two months off.

However, take note of the many catches at this opportunity. First of all, this is not an EMI holiday – you have to pay EMI with interest later. Delayed payments in your credit history are not classified as a default link, but you have two months of relaxation from the Reserve Bank.

Additionally, whether the benefit extends to you is at the bank’s discretion as an invitation to your lender and as an interest charge for late EMI payments.

Suppose your home loan EMI is Rs 40,000. Up on non-payment, this amount will be added to the loan principal. In the next month, the interest will be computed on the loan outstanding, along with Rs 40,000.

For the borrower who has been laid off, not taking this option is not actually an option. “While availing of the moratorium will cost them additional interest cost, it will give them at least a two month window to get a job or arrange funds from other sources, without hurting their credit score,” says Chaudhary.

Registrar’s Offices have been advised to act as registrations of property may be lower than the last fiscal year, and the target may be lost.

Asset Registration is one of the major companies earning government revenue and has contributed Rs 11,100 crore in 2018-19. Registration department sources said it was difficult to reach the previous year’s collection. “We expected revenue to be over Rs 11,100 crore last year, however it is a difficult task to achieve the target of Rs 13,122 crore set by the government.

Now, considering the coronavirus crisis, it is not possible to match 2018-19 earnings, ”said a logistics official.
March is an important month for the Department, as there are a large number of documents filed with financial institutions for loans.

Property registration in the city and suburbs has been hampered as people have postponed the outbreak of the Corona virus. There are a minimum number of footfalls in the Office of the Deputy Registrar.