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I'm an NRI living in California on a Green Card, and I recently sold an apartment that I inherited in Pune. The sale has been completed, and the payment has already been credited to my NRO account in India.
Now I'm trying to understand the best way to repatriate the property sale proceeds to my bank account in the USA. I've been reading about Form 15CA, Form 15CB, TDS, FEMA rules, and the annual repatriation limits, but there seems to be a lot of conflicting information online.
My bank mentioned that I'll need to submit several documents before they can process the transfer, including proof of the property sale and tax-related paperwork. My chartered accountant is helping with the tax filings, but I'd like to hear from people who have actually completed the process recently.
How long did your bank take to process the remittance? Did you use your regular bank, or did you go through a foreign exchange provider? Were there any unexpected document requests or delays?
I'm not looking for legal or tax advice—just real experiences so I know what to expect. I understand every case is different, and the requirements may vary depending on the bank and individual circumstances.
My experience in Canada was a little different. I sold inherited property in Ahmedabad earlier this year. My bank was fairly responsive, but they requested additional proof showing how I became the owner because the property had been inherited.
Besides the sale documents, they wanted copies of the registered will, legal heir documents, and identity records before approving the outward remittance.
The transfer itself wasn't the slow part—it was gathering all the supporting paperwork. Once the bank completed its compliance review, the money was transferred within a few working days.
Based on my experience, having a CA involved from the beginning helped avoid multiple rounds of document requests.
I went through this last year after selling a residential flat in Bengaluru. The money was already in my NRO account, and my bank asked for the sale deed, PAN, proof that applicable taxes had been paid, Form 15CA, Form 15CB prepared by my CA, and a remittance request form.
The document review took about a week because they wanted clarification on one of the tax calculations. Once everything was accepted, the funds reached my US bank account within three business days.
One thing I learned was to ask the bank for their exact document checklist before submitting anything. Different branches seemed to have slightly different internal procedures, even within the same bank.
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I recently transferred property sale proceeds from my NRO account to Australia after selling a house in Hyderabad.
The biggest delay for me wasn't with the transfer itself but with obtaining the tax-related certificates. My CA prepared Form 15CB, and I submitted Form 15CA online before visiting the bank.
The bank also asked for the registered sale deed, purchase history, PAN, passport, overseas address proof, and a declaration regarding the source of funds.
If you're planning the transfer around a specific deadline, I'd leave extra time because compliance reviews can vary. My transfer took about ten days from document submission to the funds appearing in my Australian account.