439. NRI Buying Converted

Agricultural land in Andhra Pradesh

Questions: Dear Mr. Virendar, I thank you for the solutions and clarity you give in helping the NRI like me to invest in India. I am planning to buy a 8 acres of land in Andhra Pradesh, the land is a Agricultural land. As a nri i understand that i am not eligible to buy a agricultural land. so i am planning to get the land conversion done by the present owners of the land. once the land conversion is completed i am planning to buy the land from them and register. by doing so should i pay any extra stamp duty or taxes at the time of registration. you need to advice whether this is the right way of doing it or advice me on a better way of purchasing the land . kindly try to reply at the earliest. Answer: The Andhra Pradesh government has passed laws to deal with the conversion of agricultural land to be used for non agricultural purposes in the state. The Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Land Act, 2006 regulates the conversion of agricultural land. I believe the fee for conversion if approved, is around 10% of the basic value of the land. Andhra Pradesh has a requirement whereby it is compulsory to get permission to construct a house or other type of property. Hence when buying land, it is important that you get a legal and valid land conversion certificate from the seller. When buying converted land, check to ensure that sale is allowed and their are no time restrictions etc attached as a condition of conversion. You should also read the answer to question number 345 titled ‘ Land conversion - Agricultural land converted to residential in India’