Repatriation of funds from India by NRIs is possible, but it is subject to certain general terms. They are:
- Repatriation can be done only when the applicable tax payments have been completed.
- Any remittance from an NRO account to an overseas bank account or to an NRE account is permitted through a single Authorized Dealer (AD) Bank in a specific Financial Year.
- As per a recent ruling from RBI, any gifts that the NRI receives from residents may be credited to his/her NRO account up to a limit of $2,50,000. That is a kind of indirect ceiling on the volume of repatriation of such receipts by the NRI.
Repatriation from NRE Account
From your NRE account, you can repatriate any amount. You can remit this amount to any account abroad in any currency that you might choose.
Repatriation from NRO Account
From your NRO account, however, the funds are not fully repatriable. As per the rules of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)—India’s central bank—you can make outward remittances from your NRO account up to a limit of $1 million USD in a financial year (April – March).
Documents Required for the Repatriation of Funds from NRE/NRO Accounts
- Application form for remittance: The bank where you have your account will provide it.
- Declaration under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in Form A2: The bank will provide this form, too.
- Form 15CA: You need to submit Form 15CA on the site of the Tax Information Network. This form contains information on the remitter like name and address, Permanent Account Number (PAN), the overseas account where remittance will get credited, etc.
Additionally, the form also contains the details of the chartered accountant who would certify the Form 15CB for you. Upon submitting Form 15CA, you would receive an acknowledgment. Print and sign it. You would have to submit it to the bank along with Form 15CB.
- Form 15CB: In Form 15CB, the chartered accountant would certify that you have cleared all the due taxes on the funds that you wish to remit. The certificate would also mention the nature of the funds, whether they are interests, royalties, dividends, etc.
If the fund to be remitted includes the interest that you have earned on the deposit maintained in your NRO account, the bank will deduct 30% tax at source. But if you live in the U.S., the UK, or any other nation that has a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with India, then the Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) will be 20%.
- Copy of the PAN card
You would also need to submit the documents pertaining to the proof of the source of funds in your NRO account. These would be as below:
- Rent: Rent receipts/rent agreement
- Dividends: Dividend warrant/bank statement showing dividend credit
- Interest: Bank statement showing interest credit
- Pension/Provident Fund/Gratuity: Proof of such income from the Pension Office, Provident Fund Officer, or Employer
- For each of the above cases, you might also submit Form 16A.
- For sale of property: Copies of the Sale Deed and Purchase Deed, bank statement showing the credit of the proceeds from the sale
- For sale of property acquired through inheritance: Apart from the documents mentioned in the above bullet point, you might also need to submit any one of the following documents:
- Copy of the will
- Succession Certificate
- Legal Heirship Certificate
- Partition Deed
- Settlement Deed
- Court Order
- Mutation Deed
- Letter of Administration
