By Saurabh Garg, founder·11 min read·Published 2026-06-11

Sell Property in India From Dubai: The Full Process

A Dubai-based NRI sells property in India through a registered power of attorney executed at the Indian consulate, a buyer who withholds TDS at 13 to 14.95% of the sale price unless you hold a lower-deduction certificate, and a repatriation of proceeds to your UAE bank account through your NRO account. None of this needs a flight to India. It needs a clean POA, an early TDS certificate application, and a CA who has done this before. This guide walks the sale itself: consulate execution, the sale deed and TDS mechanics, and getting the money into your Emirates NBD or wherever-you-bank account.

The remote-sale mechanics that apply to any NRI, from any country, are covered in full in selling NRI property without visiting India. The UAE-specific tax treaty position, which is thinner than people expect, sits in the DTAA-UAE guide. This page assumes you have read both and focuses on what is specific to a Dubai or Abu Dhabi seller closing a transaction.

The POA route from the UAE: what stays the same, what to check again

The UAE is not a Hague Apostille member, so there is no apostille shortcut here the way there is for a seller in Singapore or the UK. An Indian national executes the POA in person before a consular officer, at the Consulate General of India, Dubai (through the IVS Global centre at Business Atrium, Oud Metha) or the Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi (through the SGIVS centre). Personal presence with the original passport is compulsory. A foreign passport holder, including a former Indian citizen without OCI, adds a UAE notary and Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation step before the consulate will attest. The full document checklist, fees, and both office addresses are in the POA from UAE and Singapore guide.

For a sale, three things matter more than for a management POA:

Once the POA is registered, your attorney holder in India signs the sale deed "as attorney for" you, attends the registration appointment with the buyer, and completes the transfer while you approve terms by call or email from Dubai.

The sale deed, TDS, and the Form 128 certificate

This is the step that catches Dubai sellers off guard, because it has nothing to do with the UAE and everything to do with how India treats a non-resident seller.

When the seller is an NRI, the buyer does not deduct the 1 percent that applies to a resident-to-resident sale. The buyer deducts TDS under section 195 of the Income-tax Act (renumbered section 393(2), Table S.No. 17, under the Income-tax Act, 2025), on the entire sale consideration, at the long-term capital gains rate plus surcharge and cess. For property held over 24 months, that works out to 13 percent up to a Rs 50 lakh sale price, 14.3 percent between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore, and 14.95 percent above Rs 1 crore. The buyer also needs a TAN to make the deduction, which a resident-to-resident sale does not require. The full rate table and worked example are in TDS on sale of property by NRI.

That withholding is on the full price, not your gain. A flat sold for Rs 1.8 crore with an actual gain of Rs 30 lakh and a real tax bill near Rs 4.3 lakh can see Rs 26.9 lakh withheld at the door, leaving a refund claim that takes six to eighteen months to come back.

The fix is the same for a Dubai seller as for any NRI: apply for a lower or nil deduction certificate, filed as Form 128 (the form earlier numbered Form 13), through the TRACES portal, before the sale deed is signed. Your CA files it naming the buyer and the negotiated price, the jurisdictional assessing officer reviews your actual cost and gain, and the certificate directs the buyer to deduct on that basis instead of the full price. This can run three to eight weeks, so start it as soon as a price is agreed, not on the day of registration. Your attorney holder in India can hand the certificate to the buyer, and you sign what needs signing from Dubai.

Two things to keep aligned with the POA above: the buyer needs the certificate before any payment, including the advance, or that instalment loses the benefit; and the sale deed should route payment to the NRO account the certificate names, so the CA's file traces cleanly.

Repatriating the proceeds to your UAE account

Once the sale closes, the money sits in your NRO account in India. Getting it to your bank in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or wherever you hold your UAE account runs through the same route as any NRO repatriation, with two forms your CA files on your behalf.

Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, in force from 1 April 2026, Form 15CA is renumbered Form 145 and Form 15CB is renumbered Form 146. The job is unchanged: Form 146 is the CA's certificate confirming tax has been paid or accounted for on the amount leaving India, and Form 145 is the online declaration filed against it. The bank will not process the wire without both, alongside Form A2 (the FEMA outward remittance form) and proof of tax paid, either your Form 16A from the buyer or the Form 128 certificate and challans. The step-by-step filing process is in the Form 145/146 guide.

Repatriation is capped at USD 1 million per financial year, across all NRO outflows combined, under RBI's remittance scheme. A large sale that crosses that cap in one year needs a second financial year to clear, or specific RBI approval for the balance. The full documentation list and a realistic five-week timeline sit in the NRO repatriation guide. None of this changes because you bank in the UAE. What changes is only the destination SWIFT details on Form A2.

The UAE side of the tax bill: effectively nil

The UAE levies no personal income tax and no capital gains tax on individuals. There is no second return to file in Dubai on the sale proceeds, and no foreign tax credit to claim, because there is no foreign tax to credit against. Indian tax, at the TDS rate above and settled through your Indian return, is the entire bill.

This is worth stating plainly because it changes nothing about the India-side process above and it is the one place the India-UAE DTAA does not help you. Article 13(1) of the treaty lets India tax gains from Indian immovable property in full, with no rate cap. The treaty's real value for a Dubai-based owner sits elsewhere, in residency tie-breakers and non-property income, not in the sale itself. The mechanics of why, and what a UAE Tax Residency Certificate is and is not worth here, are covered in the DTAA-UAE guide rather than repeated here.

Where this goes wrong

We run this from Dubai to close

66 MG Road executes the full sale for owners based in the UAE: the POA drafted and taken through the Indian consulate or embassy attestation, the Form 128 application filed early, the sale deed registered through your attorney holder, and the proceeds repatriated through Forms 145 and 146 to your Dubai or Abu Dhabi bank account. Teams in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Gurgaon handle the ground steps while you approve from wherever you sit. Itemized billing, no keys or POA handed over until you choose to. See sale and purchase services and tax and repatriation services.

Saurabh Garg, founder, 66 MG Road

FAQ

Can I sell my Indian property from Dubai without flying back? Yes. A registered Special Power of Attorney executed before the Indian consulate in Dubai or the embassy in Abu Dhabi lets a trusted person in India sign the sale deed and complete registration on your behalf. You approve the price and terms remotely. The full remote-execution mechanics are in selling NRI property without visiting India.

How much TDS will the buyer withhold on my sale? For property held over 24 months, 13 to 14.95 percent of the full sale price depending on the value slab, deducted under section 195 because you are a non-resident seller. This is far higher than the 1 percent a resident seller faces. See TDS on sale of property by NRI for the exact slabs.

Can I reduce the TDS before the sale closes? Yes, by applying for a lower or nil deduction certificate, filed as Form 128 (formerly Form 13), through your CA before the sale deed is signed. It typically takes three to eight weeks to issue and only applies from its issue date, so file it as soon as a price is agreed.

Do I pay any tax in the UAE on the sale? No. The UAE levies no personal income tax or capital gains tax, so there is no second tax bill and no foreign tax credit to work out. Indian TDS and capital gains tax, settled through your Indian return, are the entire liability.

How do the sale proceeds reach my Dubai bank account? Proceeds go to your NRO account in India first. From there, your CA files Form 145 (formerly 15CA) and Form 146 (formerly 15CB), and the bank wires the funds against these along with Form A2 and proof of tax paid, up to USD 1 million per financial year. Details are in the NRO repatriation guide.

Does the India-UAE tax treaty reduce what I owe on the sale? No. Article 13(1) of the DTAA allows India to tax gains on Indian immovable property in full, with no rate cap for a UAE resident. The treaty helps with residency conflicts and some non-property income, not with a property sale. See the DTAA-UAE guide.

How long does the whole process take from Dubai? Roughly 8 to 12 weeks from a standing start: two to four weeks for the POA to clear consular attestation and reach India, one to two weeks to stamp and register it, three to eight weeks for the Form 128 certificate running in parallel, one to two weeks to register the sale deed, and three to five weeks to repatriate once the sale closes.

Sources

Information on this page is as on 2026-06-11. Rules, rates, deadlines and government portals change without notice, so verify against the official source before you act. This page is for information only. It is not tax or legal advice, and it is not a substitute for a qualified adviser who knows your position.