Banks need not report individual international immovable property buys

MUMBAI: Easing norms, the Reserve Bank today said banks do not need to report immovable property purchases abroad by residents within the stipulated ceiling of USD 125,000.

As per extant Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), resident individuals were permitted to buy immovable property outside India within the annual ceiling of USD 125,000, with the condition that such cases should be immediately reported post facto to the RBI by banks.

The said regulations come under Foreign Exchange Management ( FEMA) Act.

However, the RBI today clarified that the requirement of the "post facto reporting stands withdrawn".

Earlier in June this year, RBI had raised the remittance limit for individuals to USD 125,000 per year from previous limit of USD 75,000 and later on eased it further by allowing the use of same for buying immovable property overseas.

The LRS allows residents to acquire and hold shares, debt instruments or other assets outside India without prior approval of the RBI.

The RBI had in August 2013 reduced the ceiling from USD 200,000 to USD 75,000 per person in a financial year under the LRS in view of the worsening current account deficit and a volatile rupee.