NRI Corner

Carpet Area : It is the Net usable floor area of the apartment excluding the area covered by the external walls, area under service shafts, exclusive balcony or verandah area and exclusive open terrace area, but including the area covered by the internal partition walls of the Apartment.

External Walls : All walls which are constructed or provided on the external face of an apartment.

Internal Partition Wall : All walls or independent columns constructed or provided within an apartment.

Service Shaft : It is a duct for the plumbing, drainage and garbage chutes.

A Lease, defined under Section 105 of The Transfer of Property Act, 1882, is a transfer of the right to enjoy the concerned property for a pre-defined time period or in perpetuity. The lessor (owner of the property) gives the lessee (the one leasing the property) such consideration periodically, usually at the beginning or end of a lease agreement. Normally the possession of the property is given to the Lessee.

License is defined in Section 52 of the Indian Easements Act,1882. License does not allow any interest in the premises on the licensee's part. It merely gives the licensee the right to use and occupy the premises for a limited duration. The ownership always remains with the Owner.

A lease deed needs to be stamped and registered. Even the Leave and licence Agreement is required to be stamped and registered. The amount payable towards the lease deed's stamp duty is more than that payable towards the Leave and License. For a period exceeding three years, the stamp duty is same for both agreements.

There are various implications of entering into a lease agreement such as you have to pay the stamp duty, the lease agreement has to be registered etc.

A foreign national resident outside India cannot buy immovable property in India. However, foreign nationals who are resident in India (and who are not citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Nepal, or Bhutan) can purchase immovable property in India without any special approval from the RBI. However, such buyers should check with their lawyers before buying any property as they might require approvals from other authorities such as the State Government, etc. The RBI may grant permission to a foreign citizen of non-Indian origin/foreign companies if the property is purchased for residential use and the consideration is paid by way of foreign exchange.

Under the general permission granted by RBI, (a) Non-Resident Indian (NRI)- and (b) Person of Indian Origin (PIO) are allowed to purchase immovable property in India.

You are requested to check the RBI guidelines for more information in this matter.