News that matter for NRI property owners

Timely, sourced updates for NRIs who own property in India: the RBI and FEMA circulars, tax and TDS changes, court rulings, and state property news that actually touch your flat, and what each one does and does not change. We report the news; we do not give legal or tax advice.

• CBDT opens a foreign asset disclosure window, and returning NRIs sit inside it — 7 Sep 2026. CBDT notified the foreign asset disclosure rules on 14 August 2026. An asset bought while you were an NRI and left off the return costs a ₹1 lakh fee.
• Your Name Off the Revenue Record Does Not Take Your Title With It — 7 Sep 2026. On 20 August 2026 the Supreme Court held a mutation entry cannot extinguish a co-owner's title, and the clock starts when the owner finds out, not when the entry was made.
• RBI Ended the NRE and FCNR(B) Rate Holiday a Month Early, on 31 August 2026 — 7 Sep 2026. RBI pulled the NRE and FCNR(B) interest rate relaxation forward to 31 August 2026 from 30 September. From 1 September the old ceilings apply to new deposits.
• The RBI Has Rewritten Loan Recovery. If an EMI on Your India Flat Bounces, These Are the New Limits — 20 Aug 2026. The RBI's nine circulars of 6 August 2026 set an 08:00 to 19:00 contact window and a day's notice before a recovery agent visits, from 1 January 2027.
• You Agree to Sell the Flat to Your Tenant. The Supreme Court Says He Is Still Your Tenant — 20 Aug 2026. The Supreme Court held on 13 August 2026 that an agreement to sell to a sitting tenant does not end the tenancy without a surrender under Section 111.
• More NRI Money Is Reaching India. Less of It Is Sitting in an NRI Deposit — 20 Aug 2026. RBI data of 14 August 2026 puts net transfers into India at $41.4 billion for April to June 2026 while net NRI deposits fell to $2.8 billion.
• A Consulate Stamp on Your Power of Attorney Is Not Registration — 13 Aug 2026. The Kerala High Court held that a power of attorney executed abroad has to be registered in India before it can be used to sell. Consulate attestation is a separate act.
• Register the Sale Deed and the Sale Is Done, Even If the Buyer Still Owes You — 13 Aug 2026. The Supreme Court held on 7 August 2026 that an unpaid balance does not make a registered sale deed void. The seller's remedy is a money suit, not cancellation.
• The Supreme Court Has Put Every Capital City's Building Department on the Clock — 13 Aug 2026. The Supreme Court's order of 4 August 2026 pushes every capital city's building department to act on illegal residential-to-commercial conversion. Owners abroad are exposed.
• NRIs Put $36.7 Billion Into Indian Dollar Deposits by 31 July. The Window Shuts on 30 September — 7 Aug 2026. RBI raised $36.7bn through FCNR(B) deposits by 31 July 2026 and ruled out closing the window early. It still ends 30 September, and NRO money cannot go through it.
• One NRI Filing Deadline Has Passed. The Other Is 31 August — 7 Aug 2026. The 31 July 2026 date for ITR-2 has passed. NRIs with business or professional income file ITR-3 by 31 August 2026, a date the Finance Act 2026 moved. Here is who is in which bucket.
• A Report Says 46% of NRI Owners Want to Sell Now. Read the Sample Before You Read the Number — 7 Aug 2026. A 29 July 2026 report says 46% of NRI property owners want to sell now and over half want the money abroad. The sample is 150 clients at one firm. Here is the honest read.
• The Supreme Court Struck Down One Will and Upheld Another Within Seven Weeks. The Line Between Them Matters. — 26 Jul 2026. The Supreme Court struck one will and upheld another within seven weeks of mid-2026, both cutting out family. The line between them, and what it means for NRI heirs.
• Home Sales Fell 6% in Q2 2026 While Builders Launched More: Anarock — 23 Jul 2026. Anarock says home sales in India's top seven cities fell 6% in Q2 2026 while launches rose 7%. What a cooling quarter means for an NRI buying in 2026.
• The Cost Inflation Index for 2026-27 Is 384. For an NRI Selling Property, It Changes Nothing — 23 Jul 2026. CBDT set the Cost Inflation Index for FY 2026-27 at 384 on 15 July 2026. Here is the honest read for an NRI selling property in India, where indexation is already gone.
• The 31 August ITR Deadline Is Not Yours. As an NRI, You File by 31 July 2026 — 23 Jul 2026. The new 31 August 2026 ITR deadline is for ITR-3 and ITR-4 non-audit filers. NRIs file ITR-2 and are still due on 31 July 2026. Here is what changed and who it hits.
• Bengaluru's B-Khata Conversion Fee Goes Back to 5% on 24 August — 16 Jul 2026. Karnataka cut the B-Khata to A-Khata conversion fee from 5% of guidance value to 2%. The window shuts on 23 August 2026, then the rate goes back to 5%.
• India Sold 1.71 Lakh Homes in H1 2026 and Prices Rose Anyway — 16 Jul 2026. Knight Frank's H1 2026 report: sales across eight cities rose 1% to 171,471 homes while prices climbed 5% to 9%. What a rising average hides from an owner.
• Your Co-Heirs Get First Refusal Before You Sell an Inherited Share — 16 Jul 2026. On 14 July 2026 the Supreme Court held Section 22 of the Hindu Succession Act covers inherited agricultural land too. Co-heirs get first refusal on a sale.
• The FEMA Non-Debt Rules Changed in June 2026: Here Is What It Does Not Touch — 9 Jul 2026. India gazetted the FEMA Non-Debt Instruments Third Amendment on 12 June 2026, widening who can invest in listed equity. It does not change NRI property rules. What did change.
• Maharashtra Holds Ready Reckoner Rates Flat for 2026-27: No Hike for Mumbai or Pune — 9 Jul 2026. Maharashtra held Ready Reckoner rates flat for FY 2026-27, so the stamp duty and capital-gains base in Mumbai and Pune does not rise this year. What it means for NRIs.
• One Heir Cannot Sell the Whole Inherited Flat: the Supreme Court Draws the Line — 9 Jul 2026. In Darubai v. Kamalabai (June 2026) the Supreme Court held that heirs of a Hindu who dies without a will hold fixed separate shares. No one heir can sell the whole.
• NRI Income-Tax Filing for 2025-26: ITR-2, 31 July 2026, and What Actually Changed — 2 Jul 2026. NRI property owners file ITR-2 by 31 July 2026. The new unrealised-rent relief is for residents, not you. What actually changed, plus the revised-return window.
• RBI Doubles the NRI Equity Investment Limit to 10% From 5 June 2026 — 2 Jul 2026. On 5 June 2026 the RBI doubled the NRI/OCI single-company equity limit to 10% and raised the aggregate cap to 24%. What changes, and what it leaves alone for property owners.
• RBI Holds the Repo Rate at 5.25%: What It Means for NRI Home-Loan Borrowers — 2 Jul 2026. The RBI held the repo rate at 5.25% on 5 June 2026, a fourth straight pause. What steady rates mean for NRIs paying a floating-rate home loan on India property.
• Assessment Year Is Gone: the Income-tax Act 2025 Is Now Live — 25 Jun 2026. From 1 April 2026 the Income-tax Act 2025 is live. Assessment Year becomes Tax Year and the TDS sections an NRI property seller cites are renumbered, at the same rate.
• TCS on Money Sent Abroad Drops to 2% From 1 April 2026 — 25 Jun 2026. From 1 April 2026, TCS on LRS education and medical remittances falls 5% to 2%. What changed under Finance Act 2026, and why NRI property repatriation runs on a separate track.
• New Forms for Sending Money Abroad: 145 and 146 Replace 15CA and 15CB — 25 Jun 2026. From 1 April 2026, Form 145 and Form 146 replace Form 15CA/15CB for NRO remittances abroad. What an NRI selling property and repatriating proceeds must now file.
• Buying From an NRI Gets Simpler: No TAN Needed From 1 October 2026 — 18 Jun 2026. From 1 October 2026 a resident buyer purchasing property from an NRI no longer needs a TAN; PAN is enough. Until then TAN stays mandatory. What the switch means for NRI sellers.
• Your NRI Property Tax Forms Were Renumbered: Form 128 and Form 144 in 2026 — 18 Jun 2026. Under the Income-tax Act 2025, the NRI property forms are renumbered: Form 13 becomes Form 128 (lower-TDS certificate) and Form 27Q becomes Form 144. What changed and what didn't.

All NRI property guides · Services · Get a proposal