NRI Farmland: The Honest Path

Most farmland companies answer the NRI question with a wink and a "structure." Here is the risk-first version: under the ordinary RBI and FEMA route, an NRI or OCI cannot purchase or receive agricultural land as a gift. Inheritance is separate, and residency must be established before any later purchase.

The rule, precisely

Under FEMA and RBI regulations, NRIs and OCIs cannot directly purchase agricultural land, plantation property, or farmhouses anywhere in India. This is separate from state land laws: Karnataka's repeal of Sections 79A/79B in 2020 opened farmland to all resident Indian citizens — it changed nothing for NRIs. What NRIs can do: inherit agricultural land, and buy non-agricultural (converted) property.

Why we won't help you around it

Unpopular opinion for a farmland company: the restriction is valid policy. Agricultural land is the country's food-producing resource. Land bought and left idle by absentee owners abroad takes acreage out of production — the exact outcome the rule exists to prevent. So we do not offer purchase "structures" to NRIs, and we would be wary of anyone who does: a structure built to defeat FEMA carries its risk into your title, and benami-type arrangements endanger both the NRI and the resident front.

A power of attorney, company, trust or resident family title does not automatically solve the restriction. The underlying beneficial ownership, funding, control and purpose still matter. Do not proceed without independent written advice for the actual transaction.

Keep resident family purchases genuinely independent

A resident parent or other family member may decide to buy farmland for their own use and benefit if eligible under the applicable rules. That is their transaction, not an NRI purchase structure. A resident name on the deed must not conceal NRI beneficial ownership, control or a side agreement that changes the real buyer.

Inheritance is treated separately under RBI guidance. The inheriting person should preserve the succession documents, registered title and mutation trail and obtain advice before any later transfer. A returning Indian citizen should establish residency under FEMA before considering a new purchase.

What to avoid

• "NRI-friendly structures" promising direct agricultural ownership — LLP units, GPA-only holdings, unregistered agreements. If the structure's purpose is defeating FEMA, its risk is now your title's risk.
• Benami arrangements — putting land in a resident's name while control and beneficial ownership secretly sit abroad. Illegal for both parties.
• Anyone who answers the FEMA question with "don't worry." Worry is the correct response to regulatory risk; process is the cure. Consult a FEMA-registered CA before any family land plan.

The honest summary

If you are an NRI or OCI, start with the restriction rather than a project. Verify whether the situation is inheritance, a later transfer, or a purchase after residency has genuinely changed. Do not use another person's title or a power of attorney to disguise the real transaction. Read the current RBI FAQ, then obtain independent legal and tax advice.