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Questions/Answers Page
Seventeen
 Information
provided is for general knowledge only and should not be
deemed to be professional advice. For professional
advice kindly consult professional immigration advisors
or tax consultants depending on your personal situation.
This website is a one person operation, Please spell
check your questions as I normally just cut and paste
questions from emails. Answers to most questions asked
are usually posted within five days. Answers are posted
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Email questions to: V. K. Chand at:
question@nriinformation.com
Answers are normally posted in five days.
How to Renounce OCI - Cancel OCI
Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is Amit Thakore.
I am a US citizen holding an OCI card in Gujarat.
Is it possible for me to submit my OCI card? what are the
consequences? Will I be able to apply for OCI if I submit it
back ?
Please do let me know in detail.
Thanking You,
Amit Thakore
A: I assume by "submit my OCI card"
your question relates to asking for the cancellation of your OCI
status.
OCI holders who wish to
voluntarily cancel their OCI status can do so by submitting
their intention of renunciation in From XXII to the Indian
Mission/Post where OCI registration was granted. After receipt
of the declaration, the Indian Mission/Post shall issue an
acknowledgement in Form XXII A.
Regarding your second question, "Will I be able to apply for OCI if I submit it back" all I can say is that this would depend on the authorities when you re-apply for OCI. Please note that on the application form for requesting OCI, applicants are asked whether the applicant or any member of the applicants family has applied for OCI registration earlier and what was the outcome of their earlier application.
You can view a sample of the form required to be filled to renounce OCI HERE
Whether you are granted OCI registration a second time would solely depend on the government authorities when they review your application.
How to Repatriate Funds From Sale of Property in
India
Q: Dear Mr. Chand,
I bought a property (flat in a society) in
Delhi, India in 1994. I was Indian citizen at that time. Now I
am a Canadian citizen with PIO card. Please advise the best
course of action to sell the property and convert the currency
into $ and remit to Canada.
Kind regards,
S. Chaudhuri
A: Many people are led to believe that they cannot transfer money abroad form the sale of property they own in India and end up dealing with illegal money dealers. Some get their money this way and quite a few are cheated as there is no paper trail.
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You can legally repatriate money from sale of property you own. Depending on the value of the property you may have to split the remittance over a period of time.
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Nri's can legally transfer sale proceeds abroad. This probably may take a little extra time completing the formalities but such a transfer would be safe and legal.
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To transfer money abroad, Nri's must receive payments by way of documented bank transactions like cheques, bank drafts etc and avoid cash deals. This money should be deposited in an NRO account.
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Your bank can help you complete the formalities to repatriate or you may prefer to contact a reputable accountancy firm.
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For more information on repatriation for previously owned property in India check HERE
Agricultural Land Inherited by OCI
Q: Hello and good afternoon.
I am an Indian born and educated person and currently hold Non Indian passport as well as OCI. I have some agriculture land (in Rajasthan) inherited from my Father/grand-father along with my uncles and brothers. For the purpose of consolidating all our shares from different locations to one location we would like to do some land transfer between brother as well as some with uncle. Being an OCI am I allowed to do such a transfer. If yes is there any government authority I can contact for further information. There may be difference in land (area) switch based on value of different fields and may be a need for small money exchange to balance the transfers.
Thanks in advance.
M S Dhaliwal
A: Assuming that your brothers and uncles are Indian citizens, the following scenarios come to mind:
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You could transfer some/part of your land to them and receive money for it. This would be fine, as agricultural land in India, acquired by foreigners, by way of inheritance can only be sold to Indian citizens.
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Using the analogy of #1 as an OCI holder you cannot buy agricultural land. Even though you can acquire it by inheritance you cannot buy agricultural land because of your foreign citizenship.
So if you were to pay money to your relatives to acquire agricultural land from them; then the question of legality arises as OCI holders cannot purchase agricultural land.
There may be an option to work out an agreement of some sort between all your relatives on the division of the inherited agricultural lands. For this, you should seek guidance from a qualified lawyer.
I believe the office of the Sub-Registrar or the office of the Tehsildar, in whose jurisdiction the property is located are the ones who can provide you with information on land transfers.
Purchase property in Himachal Pradesh
Q: Dear Mr. V.K. Chand,
I received your contact from OCI India Site. I am a Canadian
citizen and OCI holder. I am planning to buy a flat at Shimla or
surroundings at H.P. What are the legal requirements or
restrictions, if any, around this - my main question being am I
legally entitled to buy a flat at Himachal? I will sincerely
appreciate to receive your feedback on this.
Regards,
Mr. P. Chatterjee
A: Under the Government of Himachal Pradesh
laws, only permanent residents of Himachal Pradesh can buy land
in the state. All others who wish to purchase land for projects
such as building houses and bungalows are required to seek
relaxations under Section 118 of the Land Reforms and Tenancy
Act from the HP government.
In 2006, rules were slightly relaxed to allow Non-Himachal residents to purchase land in certain areas of Himachal for industries and to private builders to develop housing projects. Non-Himachal resident Indian citizens can purchase properties only from authorized licensed builders.
Permissions by the Himachal government are considered on a case by case basis. Indian news media widely reported in 2007 that the Himachal Pradesh government had given permission to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra a non-Himachal resident to build in Himachal Pradesh.
Regarding your question about the legality of buying a flat, there is no circular, that I am aware of that clearly states that OCI holders can buy flats in Himachal Pradesh.
There may be many property dealers who try and sell by taking bribes and perhaps hiding citizenship status when filling documents.
In such cases the buyers are always on shaky ground. You should be able to find useful information from the Himachal Pradesh Housing & Urban Development Authority about buying properties in Himachal Pradesh. Here is a link to their WEBSITE
Register new car in India
Q: Hello Sir/Madam,
I am an NRI from the US (US Citizen) with a valid PIO card wants to purchase a small car. I tend to spend 4-5 months a year in India and due to transportation convenience want to purchase a car via car loan.
My car loan has been
approved, paid and my portion of the payment has been made to
the car dealer Hyundai but the company is unable to get my
number registered through Mumbai RTO. Believe in order to
register a car one needs ID proof/Nationality Proof, or LIC or
Voting Card. I don't have any of these because I tend to spend
less time in India than US and never had the requirement to
change my status. Hyundai believes that if RTO comes to know I
do not have Indian citizenship, RTO will not register my car and
it will work against me.
In order to prove my authenticity I have
given a copy of original sale agreement, possession letter of my
property in India (which proves my current address), current
electricity paid bill, current MTNL paid phone bill, society
maintenance current bill, current NRO/NRI bank statement from
last 12 months, my IT returns ( I have rental income from Indian
property) for the last 2 years to the car dealer. And I am
trying to repeatedly inform them to use PIO card to show my
identity/nationality proof as well as evidence, but the company
has never dealt with my kind of situation and hesitating
thinking if by producing PIO card it will clearly indicate I am
not an Indian citizen (true), and I will be denied this right of
registering a vehicle in my name. Is it true? Is it illegal for
a foreign national with a valid PIO card and above documents to
buy a car in India under his/her name?
Can you suggest me if there's anyway I can
help from my end to convince the RTO collector/registrar and
Hyundai car dealer who's unaware of PIO card?
Your help will be greatly appreciated.
A: To register a new car your Hyundai
Dealer should already have most of the documents such as
Invoice, insurance , Sales tax payment, Financiers letter, PUC
certificate, Form - 20 which is application for new
registration.
You need to provide proof of address and it appears you have
done already so by providing your utility bills etc. The only
thing that I see missing is your PAN number which you obviously
don't have.
Every individual who is buying a car in India is required to
furnish their PAN Number. For people such as you, who do not
have a PAN card, you are required to submit a duly filled Form
No: 60 and this should be acceptable by the RTO office.
You can see a sample of Form 60 by clicking
HERE. Your dealer
should provide you with a copy of this form to fill out.
I know proof of address is required
but proof of nationality to register a car is a new one to me.
I think you have given far too much information to your car
dealer. Bank statements etc are not required by RTO offices.
I am also providing the link to the website of the Transport Department of Maharashtra State showing requirements for registering a new car HERE It explains clearly the requirements of registering a new vehicle in the State of Maharashtra.
Follow-up
Thanks a million for
your timely response. Your site has abundance resources for
people like us.
I had forgotten to add in my earlier
response mentioning that I do have a PAN card which is also
mandatory to file IT returns.
However, the best news is finally the RTO
has approved my registration and I got my car yesterday. It took
me over 2 months just to get a car in India despite submitting
all legal documents. Without resource from your site I would
have never known the requirement details from Maharashtra
Transport.
Once again, thanks for your help.
Best regards
Kajal
A: Thanks for your response. Glad we could help. Being an OCI holder myself, I have had first hand experience buying and registering a car in India. I actually also had the registration done in Maharashtra and did not have any problems in doing so. I guess the dealer you bought your car from was not familiar with proper registration rules and regulations. Enjoy your car!
Readers comments & feedback. Post your comment or answer a question . . .
Jayesh Bole
2011/1/9 9:49 am
Sir,
I am an Indian working in Bhutan since August 2005. In July 2006
I got my car from India to drive in Bhutan with my Indian
registration number, duly paying my road tax in Bhutan. Now I
will be returning to India. Can I take my car back to India? Do
I have to pay for road taxes in India for the period my car was
not in India? Please advise. Regards and thanks
Stacey Mason
2011/1/19 12:29 am
I am a Indian with Canadian citizenship. I don't have dual
citizenship. Before leaving India, I had a motor accident and
had filed a MVA case and was disabled. Now I have got a
settlement. How can I collect my money from court treasury as
truly it is my money for all what I lost and suffered. What is
the procedure to get it abroad. Thanks
Stacey
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