Selling property in India while you live abroad: a step-by-step guide for NRIs

Step 1: get the title and documents ready

• the registered sale deed, gift deed, partition deed, or will with probate under which you own the property, and the earlier chain where available;
• mutation in your name in the municipal or land records, and up-to-date property tax receipts;
• for a flat: the society or association no-objection, share certificate and maintenance dues clearance;
• loan closure letter and release of the bank's charge, if there was a home loan;
• your PAN, passport, OCI card if any, and proof of your overseas address.

Gaps here (an old flat never mutated, a missing earlier deed, a co-owner who has died) are the commonest reason NRI sales stall. Sort them before you sign with a buyer. If you inherited the property, see selling inherited property.

Step 2: decide who signs in India

You can fly in for one day for registration, or authorise someone through a specific power of attorney to sign the agreement and sale deed and receive the price into your account. Sign it before the Indian embassy or a notary with an apostille, then have it stamped in India within three months. See power of attorney from abroad. A POA to "manage all my affairs" is risky; limit it to this property and this sale.

Step 3: find and check the buyer

1. Agree the price, and check it against the government's market value for stamp duty, so neither side is questioned later.
2. Sign an agreement for sale with a modest advance, the payment schedule, and the date for registration.
3. Take every payment by bank transfer into your NRO account, never in cash, and never to the attorney's own account.

Step 4: tax on the sale (TDS)

When the seller is an NRI, the buyer must deduct tax at source and deposit it, and many buyers deduct on the whole price because they cannot work out the gain. To avoid that, apply to the income tax department for a lower or nil deduction certificate before the sale, showing your purchase cost and the actual gain. The buyer then deducts only that amount.

• Long-term gains (property held over two years) are taxed at 12.5% under the current rates, plus surcharge and cess; short-term gains at your slab rate.
• Exemptions for reinvesting in a residential house or specified bonds are available to NRIs as to residents.
• File an Indian income tax return for the year to claim any excess TDS as a refund. Check whether your country of residence also taxes the gain and how the tax treaty credits it.

Step 5: registration and taking the money abroad

1. The sale deed is registered at the sub-registrar, with you or your attorney, the buyer and two witnesses.
2. Hand over possession and the original documents only after the full price is in your account.
3. Remit the money abroad from the NRO account: up to USD 1 million per financial year, with Form 15CA and a chartered accountant's certificate in Form 15CB.

This guide gives general information about the law in India as on 11 November 2026. It is not legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Rules and limits change; please take advice on your own facts.