I inherited a house in India. Does Germany want to know?

Possibly, because German inheritance and gift rules can apply to worldwide assets where either party is German tax resident. That normally needs a value at the date of death. Your Steuerberater confirms your position, and we prepare the valuation for that specific date.

Are the German value and the Indian value the same number?

Usually not, because they are values at different dates for different purposes. The German side typically looks at the date of death. The Indian side looks at the previous owner's cost or the 1 April 2001 value. One inspection can produce both.

Do you produce reports in German?

We issue in English, which is generally accepted, and we describe every Indian document so a reader unfamiliar with them can follow. If your adviser needs a certified translation, we will tell you honestly and you can arrange one locally.

Do I need to travel to India for this?

No. In many years of NRI work we have never needed the owner present. One person in India provides access to the property, and everything else is handled remotely. Most of our overseas clients never meet us in person.

Can you talk to my accountant where I live?

Yes, and we prefer it. Mismatched figures between your Indian filing and your filing abroad is a common and entirely avoidable problem. A short call between us and your adviser usually removes it.

How do you handle the time difference?

We schedule calls to suit you rather than us, including early mornings and late evenings India time. Reports go out by email, so nothing waits on office hours.

For NRIs in Germany: Valuing Your Indian Property

You live in Germany and own property in India. German rules can reach an Indian property in ways owners do not expect, particularly on inheritance, and the two tax systems measure the same property in completely different ways.

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What we actually do for you

We value your Indian property properly, from a real site visit, and give you a signed report your chartered accountant, your lawyer, a bank, a court or a tax authority will accept. You do not fly anywhere.

One person on the ground gives our engineer access. That is the only physical requirement. Everything else runs on email, WhatsApp and scheduled calls in your time zone.

How it runs from abroad

Tell us the purposeSelling, inheriting, a court matter, or a filing where you live. The purpose decides which dates we value.
We arrange accessWith whoever you nominate in India. The site visit is usually within a day or two of that being fixed.
We inspect and researchMeasurements, photographs stamped with date and location, and the registered sale evidence behind the figure.
You get the reportBy email in 48 to 72 hours, with a courier copy if your filing needs a physical original.
We talk to your professionalsDirectly with your CA in India and, where useful, your adviser where you live, so the numbers in both filings agree.

If a power of attorney is involved

Many overseas owners give a power of attorney to someone in India, particularly for a sale. Two things are worth knowing. It should be a special power naming the specific property rather than a general one, and it needs an apostille or consular attestation depending on where you live.

Get the valuation done early. In a typical timeline the valuation happens in the first few weeks, before the power of attorney work, so a delay at our step delays everything after it.

Where German rules reach your Indian property

Germany taxes worldwide transfers on inheritance and gifts where either the person who died or the person receiving is a German tax resident. So an Indian house passing to a family member in Germany can be relevant to a German filing even though the property never leaves India.

What that filing needs is a value at the date of the transfer, usually the date of death. India, on the other hand, ignores that date entirely and looks at the previous owner's cost or the 1 April 2001 value.

India and Germany have had a double taxation treaty since 1991, and relief for tax paid in one country is claimed through it rather than granted automatically. Your Steuerberater decides what applies. We supply the property valuations both sides of the arithmetic depend on.

The two country problem

This is the part that catches people out, and it is worth understanding before you spend money on the wrong report.

India works out your gain using the previous owner's cost, or for property held since before April 2001, its market value on 1 April 2001. India does not reset the cost to what the property was worth on the day you inherited it.

Your German filing on an inheritance usually needs the value at the date of death, which is a different date from the one India uses.

So one property can genuinely need more than one valuation, on more than one date, for two different filings. Both are past date reconstructions and both are ordinary work for us. One inspection can produce all of them, which is far cheaper than discovering the second requirement a year later.

Questions from NRIs in Germany

I inherited a house in India. Does Germany want to know?: Possibly, because German inheritance and gift rules can apply to worldwide assets where either party is German tax resident. That normally needs a value at the date of death. Your Steuerberater confirms your position, and we prepare the valuation for that specific date.
Are the German value and the Indian value the same number?: Usually not, because they are values at different dates for different purposes. The German side typically looks at the date of death. The Indian side looks at the previous owner's cost or the 1 April 2001 value. One inspection can produce both.
Do you produce reports in German?: We issue in English, which is generally accepted, and we describe every Indian document so a reader unfamiliar with them can follow. If your adviser needs a certified translation, we will tell you honestly and you can arrange one locally.

Questions every overseas owner asks

Do I need to travel to India for this?: No. In many years of NRI work we have never needed the owner present. One person in India provides access to the property, and everything else is handled remotely. Most of our overseas clients never meet us in person.
Can you talk to my accountant where I live?: Yes, and we prefer it. Mismatched figures between your Indian filing and your filing abroad is a common and entirely avoidable problem. A short call between us and your adviser usually removes it.
How do you handle the time difference?: We schedule calls to suit you rather than us, including early mornings and late evenings India time. Reports go out by email, so nothing waits on office hours.

Checked by Parish Rao, Chartered Engineer and Government Approved Valuer.

Page last checked on 27 August 2026.

Everything about property valuation in NRI Property Valuation. Without Flying to India

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