FEMA 1999 — the Foreign Exchange Management Act — governs every transaction between an NRI and India: the purchase of property, the maintenance of bank accounts, the repatriation of funds, the making of investments, and the receipt of income from Indian sources. The RBI's Master Directions specify the categories of transaction NRIs can undertake freely, those that require prior approval, and those that are prohibited altogether. Getting FEMA wrong — particularly on property transactions — can result in the transaction being void, the funds being confiscated, and the NRI facing prosecution under FEMA's penal provisions.
GP's NRI legal services practice is built on a single principle: the NRI client should not need to travel to India to resolve their Indian legal issues. Every matter GP handles for NRI clients is managed through a remote-first engagement model — video conference briefings, secure document exchange, power of attorney for filings and appearances, and communication that respects the NRI's time zone. The only time we ask an NRI to visit India is when it is genuinely necessary — and in most matters, it is not.
Buying, selling, gifting, and inheriting property in India — the FEMA framework for each transaction, the RBI categories of permissible and restricted property, title due diligence, encumbrance searches, and the tax implications of sale. GP manages the complete property transaction for NRI clients — from the initial FEMA compliance check through to the registered conveyance deed and the mutation of the property in the NRI's name.
FEMA compliance advisory for NRIs — permissibility of proposed transactions, FEMA reporting obligations, LRS remittances, repatriation of Indian income and asset sale proceeds, and compounding of FEMA contraventions. GP also advises on the interaction between FEMA, the RBI's Master Directions, and the income tax obligations of NRI taxpayers in India.
NRE, NRO, and FCNR(B) account structures — the differences, the permitted credits and debits, and the repatriation rules for each. NRO to NRE transfer procedures, the annual LRS USD 1 million repatriation limit, and the documentation required by authorised dealer banks to process repatriation requests. GP advises on the optimal account structure for each NRI client's circumstances and manages the documentation for repatriation transactions.
Advisory on the rights and restrictions of Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders — property ownership rights, employment restrictions, parity with NRIs for most purposes, and the specific restrictions that apply to OCIs that do not apply to NRIs. GP also advises on OCI card applications, revocations, renunciations of Indian citizenship, and the legal implications of acquiring foreign citizenship.
Drafting and registration of powers of attorney for NRIs to authorise trusted India-based persons to manage their property, bank accounts, and legal matters. GP drafts POAs with carefully defined and limited powers, advises on the apostille and consular attestation requirements for POAs executed overseas, and manages the registration of POAs in India where required. GP also advises NRI clients on protecting themselves from POA misuse.
Cross-border estate planning, wills, succession certificates, inheritance of Indian property, and FEMA repatriation of estate proceeds — coordinated with GP's succession practice. GP also manages the complete NRI inheritance process — from the death of a relative in India to the repatriation of the estate proceeds to the NRI's overseas account — without requiring the NRI to travel to India.
When an NRI sells Indian property, the purchaser must deduct TDS at 20% (long-term) or 30% (short-term) on the entire sale consideration — not on the gain. For a ₹2 crore property with a capital gain of ₹30 lakh, the purchaser would deduct ₹40 lakh in TDS — leaving the NRI to claim a refund of ₹10 lakh after filing the income tax return. To avoid this cash flow problem, NRI sellers should apply for a lower-deduction certificate under Section 197 before the sale — which limits TDS to the actual tax on the gain. GP applies for Section 197 certificates as a standard step in every NRI property sale.
Many NRIs have inadvertently committed FEMA contraventions — buying property in restricted categories, failing to close NRO accounts on returning to India, or making remittances without the required documentation. These contraventions can be regularised through the RBI's compounding procedure — which results in a monetary penalty and regularisation of the position. GP advises on whether compounding is available, prepares the compounding application, and manages the process with the RBI's Compounding Authority.
GP's NRI practice is built for remote engagement. Property transactions, succession matters, FEMA compliance, banking, and POA execution are all managed in India by GP — with the NRI client participating by video conference and executing documents before a notary in their country of residence. The POA (apostilled and consularly attested where required) authorises GP or a designated representative to act in India. The NRI needs to travel to India only in the most exceptional circumstances — and GP's process is designed to make those circumstances as rare as possible.
An NRI's Indian legal needs span property, banking, succession, family, taxation, and FEMA — and they rarely arrive one at a time. A property transaction may trigger a FEMA question; an inheritance may require a succession certificate, a mutation, a sale, and a repatriation application; a family dispute may need both family law advice and FEMA compliance advice simultaneously. GP provides all of these services through a single client relationship — the NRI does not need to brief multiple specialists across multiple time zones.
FEMA compliance and Indian income tax are inseparable for most NRI transactions — the FEMA position determines whether the transaction is permissible; the income tax position determines how much of the proceeds can be repatriated and when. Getting FEMA right without the tax advice, or vice versa, produces incomplete advice. GP integrates both analyses — providing a single view of the NRI's complete India transaction position, with both FEMA and tax dimensions addressed simultaneously.
GP's NRI practice serves clients in the UAE, UK, Australia, Singapore, USA, and Canada — with an understanding of the specific legal and tax issues that arise in each corridor. An NRI in the UAE faces different estate planning issues than one in the UK (Radmacher, IHT); an NRI in Australia faces different superannuation and capital gains issues than one in Singapore. GP's advice is calibrated to the NRI's specific corridor — not generic advice that ignores where the NRI actually lives.
GP has acted as the NRI legal adviser to a Dubai-based Indian family across a 12-year relationship covering: the purchase of two Mumbai residential properties (FEMA compliance, due diligence, registration); the inheritance of the patriarch's Delhi property following his death intestate (succession certificate, mutation, sale, FEMA repatriation to UAE — 21 months end to end); a family dispute with an India-based sibling over a jointly held property (negotiated settlement, no litigation); and the preparation of coordinated India-UAE wills and estate plan for the current generation. All managed remotely — the family has not needed to travel to India for any of these matters.
Advised a Sydney-based NRI who, on consulting GP before a planned return to India, discovered three historic FEMA contraventions: a 2009 purchase of a piece of land in rural Maharashtra that turned out to be classified as agricultural (FEMA-prohibited category for NRIs); NRO remittances to an overseas account in 2015 and 2017 without the required Form 15CA/CB documentation; and a fixed deposit that had not been closed or converted to NRO on status change. GP filed three separate compounding applications with the RBI's Compounding Authority, disclosing each contravention fully with explanation of the circumstances. All three were compounded on payment of the prescribed penalties, and the client's FEMA position was fully regularised before their return to India.
Advised a Singapore Permanent Resident (OCI cardholder) on her first Indian property purchase — a Mumbai residential flat valued at ₹1.8 crore. GP confirmed FEMA permissibility (residential property only — no agricultural or plantation land), advised on funding from the client's NRE account (fully permissible), conducted title due diligence and encumbrance search, drafted and negotiated the sale agreement, managed the Section 195 TDS deduction by the purchaser (the client was selling, not buying — this transaction is noted for GP acting on both a purchase and a later sale), and registered the property via a registered POA in GP's name, with the client appearing by video conference at key steps. The client did not travel to India for the transaction.
The practice serves NRI clients across the six major NRI corridors — UAE, UK, Australia, Singapore, USA, and Canada — with an understanding of the specific legal and tax issues that arise in each. For matters that require overseas legal input (cross-border wills, Hague Convention proceedings, overseas property transactions), GP coordinates with its overseas partner network.
Every NRI engagement begins with a FEMA compliance check — establishing the permissibility of the proposed transaction before any other step is taken. The most common cause of NRI legal problems in India is a transaction that was entered into without the FEMA check being done first.
Property restrictions, NRO repatriation limits, agricultural land prohibition, account structuring, and the most common inadvertent contraventions — a plain-language guide.
Read Guide →FEMA permissibility, funding from NRE/NRO accounts, TDS obligations of the seller, title due diligence — the ten steps before the sale agreement is signed.
Read Guide →Whatever your Indian legal need — property, banking, FEMA, succession, family, or OCI — speak to GP today. All matters handled remotely. No India travel required in most cases.
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