Moment guide · FY 2026-27

I am repatriating funds from my NRO account

How much can I repatriate from an NRO account each year?

NRO account repatriation is limited to USD 1 million per financial year — the cap is per year, not per transaction — processed on Form A2 with Form 15CA and, where required, a CA-certified Form 15CB. Internal NRO-to-NRE transfers of your own funds are exempt from the forms under Rule 37BB, and current income like interest and dividends is generally repatriable after TDS outside the capital limit. LRS is for residents, not NRIs.

The #1 trap

Treating the USD 1 million limit as per-transaction — it is per financial year, so a large property sale needs multiple years of phased repatriation. Also, the LRS scheme is for residents, not NRIs; an NRI repatriates through the NRO route with Form A2, 15CA and, where applicable, 15CB, and interest and dividends after TDS are generally repatriable outside the capital cap.

Ravi, NRI repatriating property sale proceeds from his NRO account

Ravi, an NRI in London, sold his Indian flat for ₹2,40,00,000, and after the buyer's TDS under section 195 and the loan repayment, ₹1,60,00,000 was credited to his NRO account. The USD 1 million annual repatriation limit converts at about ₹86 per dollar to roughly ₹8,60,00,000, so the ₹1,60,00,000 is within one year's limit, and Ravi repatriates the full amount in one financial year. If the net proceeds had been ₹18,00,00,000, he would need to phase the transfer across more than two financial years, because the cap is per year, not per transaction. The bank processes the transfer on Form A2, and Ravi files Form 15CA online, with a Form 15CB certificate from a chartered accountant confirming the tax treatment, before the funds leave. A colleague who wanted to move ₹9,00,000 from his NRO to his NRE account was told no forms were needed, because internal transfers of the NRI's own funds are exempt under Rule 37BB. The ₹1,20,000 of interest in Ravi's NRO account, on which the bank deducted 30% TDS, is current income and is repatriable without counting against the capital limit. Ravi does not use the LRS scheme for this, because LRS is available only to residents. He keeps the bank's Form A2 records, the 15CA acknowledgement and the 15CB certificate for his files. A quick call with us dials in the final figure. Ravi also checks that the USD 1 million limit applies to the aggregate of all capital repatriations in the financial year, so a property sale in April and another in November share the same cap. If he repatriates in the next financial year, the unused balance resets, which is why large proceeds are phased across years. The current-income repatriation of interest and dividends is not counted against the capital limit in most cases, but the bank may still ask for the TDS certificates for the income stream. The Form 15CA is filed online before the transfer, and the Form 15CB certificate from a chartered accountant confirms that the remittance is not taxable or that the TDS has been deducted. If the remittance is a gift to a relative abroad, the gift rules under FEMA and the income-tax gift provisions both apply, and the bank asks for the relationship proof. A quick call with us dials in the final figure.