4. OCI Holder Buying Flat in India

Question: Hello Sir, I have found your site from a Google search and I was wondering whether you can help me with this question. I am a US Citizen that holds an OCI card. I am interested in investing in a flat in India with the sole purpose of reselling after a 5-6 years and reconverting the amount back in US Dollars. Is this even possible? Is there a limit on the amount of Rupees I can convert to US Dollars. And where would the taxes be paid on such a transaction? Thanks, Thomas Kunnumpurath Answer: As a OCI holder you can purchase a flat in India. Once the property is sold, you can reconvert the money into US dollars and bring it back to the United States. However you can only bring back the amount you originally submitted. The profit will be taxed as capital gains in India. Unfortunately, many properties are bought and sold with cash that is unaccounted for and is commonly referred to as black money. Many buyers insist on paying a sizable amount of money in cash and there is no record of such a payment. India no longer has a foreign currency shortage and it is now quite easy of any Indian citizen to submit funds abroad as long as the transaction is done via legal banking channels and the source of the money can be accounted for. When selling a property in India one should insist on getting maximum amount of money for the sale by way of bank cheques and drafts.