NRI guide: buying land in Dholera without flying back twice

What an NRI can and cannot buy

Under India's foreign exchange rules, a Non-Resident Indian may generally acquire residential and commercial immovable property in India. What NRIs generally may not acquire is agricultural land, plantation property and farmhouses — these require specific approval and are not available through an ordinary purchase.

This distinction is exactly why NA conversion matters more to an NRI buyer than to a resident one. A plot that has not been converted from agricultural use is not merely a documentation problem; it can be a category you are not permitted to buy. Confirm NA status in writing, against the order, before anything else.

How payment works

• Funds are routed through normal banking channels — typically an NRE, NRO or FCNR account — rather than cash or informal transfer.
• Keep a clean paper trail from source to seller. You will want it at resale and at repatriation, and reconstructing it years later is painful.
• Get the all-in cost in writing before you remit: land value, development charges, stamp duty, registration and legal costs.
• Match the payment schedule to milestones rather than paying ahead of them.

The power-of-attorney decision

Most NRI buyers cannot be physically present for every step, so a power of attorney to a trusted person in India is common and practical. Two cautions are worth stating plainly.

First, a POA is an instrument of enormous authority. Give it to someone whose interests are aligned with yours — a family member — and scope it narrowly to the transaction rather than granting general powers.

Second, a POA executed abroad usually requires attestation at an Indian mission or notarisation followed by apostille, depending on the country, and then must be handled correctly in India. Start this early; it is the step most likely to delay an otherwise ready transaction.

What a POA should never do is replace your own review of the documents. Have the NA order, plan approval, title chain and encumbrance certificate sent to you as scans and read them yourself, or have your own lawyer read them.

What happens when you sell

Plan the exit before the entry — it changes what you buy and how you hold it.

When an NRI sells immovable property in India, the buyer is required to deduct tax at source on the sale consideration, at rates applicable to non-resident sellers, which are structured differently from the rate applied when a resident sells. Where the actual tax liability is lower than the deducted amount, the usual route is either a lower-deduction certificate obtained in advance, or a refund claimed through your return.

Repatriating the proceeds abroad has its own procedure and limits, and depends on how the property was originally funded. The single practical thing you can do today to make that easier later is to retain complete records of how you paid for the property in the first place.

Running the process remotely without losing control

1. 1Demand documents as files, not descriptions. NA order, plan approval, 7/12 extract, title chain, encumbrance certificate — as scans, before you commit.
2. 2Appoint your own lawyer in India for the title review. Not the seller's lawyer.
3. 3Have someone you trust physically visit the plot, with the survey number, and send you photographs and a video walking the boundary.
4. 4Insist on a registered sale deed in your name. Not an agreement to sell, not a POA-based transfer.
5. 5Keep one complete file — deed, approvals, remittance records, receipts — backed up digitally.

Frequently asked