For NRIs in the UAE: Valuing Your Indian Property
You live in the UAE and own property in India. No income tax where you live does not mean no tax in India, and that surprise is the single most common reason Gulf based owners call us later than they should have.
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How we work with owners abroad
The mechanics are the same wherever you live. One person in India gives our engineer access. We inspect and photograph, with the date and location recorded on every image, and the signed report reaches you by email in 48 to 72 hours. You do not travel. The full process, the power of attorney position and the questions every overseas owner asks are set out here.
Why living in a no tax country changes nothing in India
India taxes property situated in India regardless of where the owner lives. If you sell, tax is deducted at source on the entire sale value rather than on your profit, unless a lower deduction certificate is obtained beforehand.
That certificate rests on showing your actual computed gain, which means proving your cost of acquisition. For property held since before April 2001 that cost is its market value on 1 April 2001, established by a valuation report.
Because there is no tax filing where you live to force the issue, Gulf based owners often deal with this only when a buyer is already waiting. By then the certificate route may be too late, and the money sits with the Indian government until a refund comes through.
What Gulf employers, banks and courts ask for
Not every valuation request from the Gulf is about tax. We are regularly asked for reports on Indian property by banks in Dubai and Abu Dhabi assessing a facility. Also for golden visa and residency files that ask you to evidence assets, and occasionally for a family matter being heard locally.
Those readers want different things from a tax filing. A bank wants a market value and usually a forced sale value in a format it recognises. A residency file wants the ownership stated unambiguously with the valuer credentials visible. We ask which of these it is before we start, because the format is not interchangeable.
Where the figure has to be shown in dirhams, we state the rupee value, the conversion, the rate used and the date it applies to. The reader can then check the arithmetic rather than take it on trust.
The two country problem
Because the UAE does not tax the gain, the Indian side is usually the only filing, which makes getting the Indian cost figure right even more important.
Why one property can need two valuations at two different dates, explained in full.
Questions from NRIs in the UAE
- I pay no income tax here. Do I still owe tax in India?
On Indian property, yes. Location of the property decides it, not where you live. The practical consequence is the deduction at source on the full sale value, which is why the lower deduction certificate matters so much to Gulf based sellers.
- The buyer wants to complete quickly. Is there time?
The valuation itself is fast, usually a site visit within a day or two and the report in 48 to 72 hours. The certificate application takes longer and is not instant, so tell us the timeline honestly on the first call and we will tell you what is realistic.
- My power of attorney was signed in Dubai. Is that enough?
The UAE is not a Hague Convention country for this purpose, so documents generally need attestation through the Indian consulate rather than an apostille, and the document must be stamped once it reaches India. Your lawyer will confirm the exact route.
Checked by Parish Rao, Chartered Engineer and Government Approved Valuer (Registration number CAT-I/443/117/2000-01).
Page last checked on 7 October 2026.
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