NRI Repatriation: What You Need to Know

Repatriating money from India involves two separate regulatory regimes that get confused constantly: FEMA governs whether and how much you’re allowed to move out of the country, while the Income Tax Act determines what you owe on the gain before it ever leaves. Getting one right doesn’t automatically satisfy the other.

Under FEMA, funds in an NRO account (where sale proceeds of Indian property typically land) are repatriable up to USD 1 million per financial year, subject to a Chartered Accountant’s certificate (Form 15CB) and the payer’s own declaration (Form 15CA). Funds in an NRE account, by contrast, are freely repatriable — the distinction between which account your money sits in matters enormously for how much friction you’ll face.

On the tax side, a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India and your country of residence typically lets you claim credit in your home country for tax already paid in India, so you’re not taxed twice on the same capital gain — but this requires the paperwork (a Tax Residency Certificate, Form 10F) to be in order before you file, not after.

The two most common mistakes we see: moving money out through an NRO account without the required CA certification, and assuming DTAA relief is automatic when it actually requires an active claim with supporting documentation in both jurisdictions. Both are avoidable with the right sequence, planned before the sale rather than after.