Indian startups going global — setting up a subsidiary in Delaware, incorporating a holding company in Singapore, or entering a joint venture with a foreign partner — are making overseas investments under FEMA, whether they realise it or not. The 2022 overhaul of India’s overseas investment framework introduced clearer rules, but the compliance obligations are […]
When a parent in India gifts money to a child living abroad, or when an NRI inherits property in India after a parent passes away, two separate legal frameworks come into play — the Income Tax Act for the question of tax, and FEMA for the question of whether the transfer is permitted at all
NRIs frequently assume that because the money is theirs — earned in India, taxed in India — they can move it abroad whenever they want. In practice, repatriation of funds from India is a regulated process under FEMA, and the account type, the source of funds, and whether Indian taxes have been settled all determine
Many founders believe that once a foreign investor transfers money to the company’s bank account, the hard part is done. It is not. Under India’s foreign exchange law, receiving foreign investment triggers a specific chain of filings and timelines, and missing any of them exposes the company to penalties under FEMA, regardless of how clean
The Foreign Exchange Management Act — FEMA — is the law that governs every cross-border money movement involving India. Yet most individuals who deal with it regularly — NRIs remitting to family, residents sending money abroad for education, professionals receiving foreign payments — know it only as “the rule the bank keeps asking about.” FEMA
Many returning NRIs encounter a confusing moment: their bank insists they must close their NRE account because they are now “FEMA resident,” while their CA tells them they are still a non-resident for income tax purposes. Both are correct — they are describing the same person under two different Acts with two different definitions. Residential
If you have ever sent money abroad from India as an individual — for a child’s university fees, a holiday, an overseas stock investment, or a relative living abroad — you have used the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, whether or not you knew it by that name. The LRS is the Reserve Bank of India’s standing
Can a resident Indian buy property abroad? Yes and FEMA permits it. The route is the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), which allows resident individuals to remit up to USD 2,50,000 per financial year for permissible purposes, including the purchase of overseas immovable property. Whether you are a salaried professional looking to invest in a flat
