Q514. Sell agricultural land and Transfer money out of India

Question: I am a US citizen with OCI status but my wife is French born US

citizen. I have two questions:

1) Can she get OCI or NRI status?

2) I have inherited agricultural land in India. Though, I have made a Will in her

favor (proper registration), I am not sure how she can transfer money after sale

of this property after my death?

Thank you,

IM Kay

Answer: Your wife cannot get OCI, she is however eligible to apply for a PIO card. • According to current rules, spouse of a person of Indian origin is eligible for PIO. Whie OCI is valid for life, PIO cards have a validity of 15 years and can be renewed. Kindly note that foreign spouse will lose PIO card in case of a divorce. For more information on India’s PIO Card see link provided at the end of this page. Transfer money from sale of agricultural land in India • On sale of property in India, up to one million US dollars per financial year can be transfered abroad after payment of taxes such as capital gains. A certificate from a chartered accountant is required Your wife should open a NRO bank account first, when she wishes do sell the property and transfer the sale proceeds abroad. Once the property is sold the funds must be deposited by Non- residents into their NRO account. NRO accounts can easily be opened from within India or even from abroad. To transfer the money from the sale of agricultural land after the sale proceeds have been deposited in a NRO bank account, two documents known as Form 15 CA and Form 15 CB have to be submitted to the Indian tax authorities. The person transferring the money (your wife, in your case) would have to fill and submit on-line Form 15 CA. This form basically asks for information about the person sending the money for example, name, address, account number, details of the overseas account where funds are being transfered etc. The other document, Form 15 CB is a certificate from a chartered accountant who will certify that you have paid all taxes due in India on the funds that you wish to send abroad and the source of the funds (such as from sale of property). Since Form 15 CA also asks for information about the accountant who will be certifying your Form 15 CB, it is better to contact a chartered account first before trying to submit Form 15 CA on-line.

More Articles of interest on this topic:

• How to calculate capital gains on property sold in India - Saving on capital gains • How to transfer money from the sale of property to a overseas bank • PIO Card - Who can get PIO card - How to get PIO card - Benefits of PIO Card