101. How to Repatriate Funds From

Sale of Property in India

Q: Dear Mr. Chand, I bought a property (flat in a society) in Delhi, India in 1994. I was Indian citizen at that time. Now I am a Canadian citizen with PIO card. Please advise the best course of action to sell the property and convert the currency into $ and remit to Canada. Kind regards, S. Chaudhuri A. Many people are led to believe that they cannot transfer money abroad form the sale of property they own in India and end up dealing with illegal money dealers. Some get their money this way and quite a few are cheated as there is no paper trail. You can legally repatriate money from sale of property you own. Depending on the value of the property you may have to split the remittance over a period of time. Nri's can legally transfer sale proceeds abroad. This probably may take a little extra time completing the formalities but such a transfer would be safe and legal. To transfer money abroad, Nri's must receive payments by way of documented bank transactions like cheques, bank drafts etc and avoid cash deals. This money should be deposited in an NRO account. Your bank can help you complete the formalities to repatriate or you may prefer to contact a reputable accountancy firm. Update Jan 11, 2012: Step by step instructions on how to repatriate the sale proceeds of property in India sold by Nri’s is covered in my book ‘THE NRI GUIDE.’ This book is available for sale from this website.