Legal Aspects
Owning a Property is an important thing in one’s life-but there’ve been instances of several unlucky buyers who were conned by fraudulent real estate agents. One needs to be careful while buying land/house to avoid falling into legal hassles. A lot of care is needed from the beginning- right from site seeing till the registration of the land. The legal status of the land is one of the first issues that you should address before confirming a property.
Before buying a land, a number of checks need to be done to confirm that the land has a clear and marketable title. The first thing is to find out the tenure, legal right of the holder of the land in government records. The tenure or possession right could be freehold, leasehold or may be held under a government grant. The seller should provide all the necessary documents to the buyer. I have listed few important checkpoints which you should consider while buying a property.
Process for Buying Property with us:
- On receipt of your inquiry we will send you all the information required through email and other modes of communication if required.
- In case you are down in Goa we will show you around our different sites and available projects by arranging for your pickup and drop.
- Once you decide to purchase a property with us a booking amount will have to be paid to us to hold the property for you.
- The "Agreement of Sale" needs to be registered at the Registrar's Office in Goa. You can come down personally for this or assign your representative a Power of Attorney to sign on your behalf.
- Mode of Payment will be as mentioned in the Agreement for sale.
- When the property is ready for possession the Sale Deed is signed. Government Stamp Duty and Registration Fees applicable at that point of time on the Sale Deed is payable to the Government by the purchaser. The final transfer and registration formalities are then completed and you take physical possession of your new property.
Rules for NRIs (Non Resident Indians) and PIOs (Persons of Indian Origin)
Acquisition and Transfer of Immovable Property in India by a Person Resident outside India
Regulations regarding acquisition and transfer of immovable property in India by a person resident outside India has been notified vide RBI Notification No. FEMA 21/2000-RB dated May 3, 2000 as amended vide Notification No. FEMA 64/2002-RB dated June 29, 2002 and Notification No. FEMA 65/2002-RB dated June 29, 2002 and relevant directions issued in the form of A.P. (DIR Series) Circulars. These are available on RBI website: www.fema.rbi.org.in
General Permission is available to purchase only a residential/commercial property in India to a person resident outside India who is a citizen of India (NRI) and who is a Person of Indian Origin (PIO).
For the purpose of acquisition and transfer of immovable property in India, a PIO means an individual (not being a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh or Sri Lanka or Afghanistan or China or Iran or Nepal or Bhutan), who (i) at any time, held Indian passport; or (ii) who or either of whose father or grandfather was a citizen of India by virtue of the Constitution of India or the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955).
NRI/PIO who has purchased residential/commercial property under general permission is not required to file any documents with the RBI.
There is no restriction on number of residential/commercial property that NRI/PIO can purchase under the general permission available.
Yes. Under general permission available NRI/PIO may acquire residential/commercial property by way of gift from a person resident in India or a NRI or a PIO.
Yes. A person resident outside India can hold immovable property acquired by way of inheritance from a person resident in India as per the provisions of Section 6(5) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.
A: NRI can transfer by way of sale residential/commercial property in India to a person resident in India or to a NRI or a PIO.
PIO can transfer by way of sale residential/commercial property in India only to a person resident in India.
Yes. Accounts can be maintained by NRIs in rupees as well as in foreign currency. Accounts in foreign currencies can, however, can be maintained with authorities’ dealers only.
Three types of accounts viz. Non resident (External) Rupee Accounts (NRE account), Ordinary Non-Resident Rupee Account (NRO A/c) and Non-Resident (Non- repatriable) Rupee Deposit accounts (NRNR) are permitted to be maintained.
Under the general permission available, the following categories can freely purchase immovable property in India:
- Non-Resident Indian (NRI)- that is a citizen of India resident outside India
- Person of Indian Origin (PIO)- that is an individual (not being a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh or Sri Lanka or Afghanistan or China or Iran or Nepal or Bhutan)
- who at any time, held Indian passport, or
- who or either of whose father or grandfather was a citizen of India by virtue of the Constitution of India or the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955).
The general permission, however, covers only purchase of residential and commercial property and not for purchase of agricultural land / plantation property / farm house in India.
No. An NRI / PIO who has purchased residential / commercial property under general permission, is not required to file any documents with the Reserve Bank.
Yes, but the person concerned would have to obtain the approvals, and fulfil the requirements if any, prescribed by other authorities, such as the concerned State Government, etc However, a foreign national resident in India who is a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Nepal and Bhutan would require prior approval of Reserve Bank. Such requests are considered by Reserve Bank in consultation with the Government of India.
A foreign company which has established a Branch Office or other place of business in India, in accordance with FERA / FEMA regulations, can acquire any immovable property in India, which is necessary for or incidental to carrying on such activity. The payment for acquiring such a property should be made by way of foreign inward remittance through proper banking channel. A declaration in form IPI should be filed with Reserve Bank within ninety days from the date of acquiring the property. Such a property can also be mortgaged with an Authorised Dealer as a security for other borrowings. On winding up of the business, the sale proceeds of such property can be repatriated only with the prior approval of Reserve Bank. Further, acquisition of immovable property by entities who had set up Branch Offices in India and incorporated in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Nepal and Bhutan would require prior approval of Reserve Bank to acquire such immovable property. However, if the foreign company has established a Liaison Office, it can not acquire immovable property . In such cases, Liaison Offices, can take property by way of lease not exceeding 5 years.
Yes, such loans are subject to the terms and conditions as laid down in Schedules 1 and 2 to Notification No. FEMA 5/2000-RB dated May 3, 2000 as amended from time to time. However, banks cannot grant fresh loans or renew existing loans in excess of Rupees 20 lakh against NRE and FCNR(B) deposits either to the depositors or to third parties [cf. A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 29 dated January 31, 2007].
Such loans can be repaid
- by way of inward remittance through normal banking channel or
- by debit to his NRE / FCNR (B) / NRO account or
- out of rental income from such property.
- by the borrower's close relatives, as defined in section 6 of the Companies Act, 1956, through their account in India by crediting the borrower's loan account.
Repatriation
- In case the amount has been received from inward remittance or debit to NRE/FCNR(B)/NRO account for acquiring the property or for repayment of the loan, the principal amount can be repatriated outside India. For this purpose, repatriation outside India means the buying or drawing of foreign exchange from an authorised dealer in India and remitting it outside India through normal banking channels or crediting it to an account denominated in foreign currency or to an account in Indian currency maintained with an authorised dealer from which it can be converted in foreign currency
- In case the property is acquired out of Rupee resources and/or the loan is repaid by close relatives in India ( as defined in Section 6 of the Companies Act, 1956), the amount can be credited to the NRO account of the NRI/PIO. The amount of capital gains, if any, arising out of sale of the property can also be credited to the NRO account. NRI/PIO are also allowed by the Authorised Dealers to repatriate an amount up to USD 1 million per financial year out of the balance in the NRO account for all bonafide purposes to the satisfaction of the authorised dealers, subject to tax compliance.