Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 153926 · FRN 136869W
The USD 1 million ceiling
The NRO repatriation limit is USD 1 million per financial year (April–March), aggregating everything you send out of NRO that year — current income, property sale proceeds, inheritance and other legitimate balances. Confirm the current FEMA limit and conditions before remitting.
NRE and FCNR are not capped
The cap is specific to NRO. Funds in NRE and FCNR accounts — which originate from foreign earnings — are fully repatriable, principal and interest, with no annual limit. This is one reason to route foreign income through NRE rather than NRO where possible.
Paperwork and an example
Each NRO repatriation needs Form 15CA/15CB. Example: in one year you repatriate ₹50 lakh of property proceeds and ₹10 lakh of NRO interest — about USD 72,000, far under the limit. If you ever needed to move more than USD 1 million from NRO in a year, you would spread it across financial years — for instance part in March and part in April uses two years’ limits within weeks. The limit is per person, so a couple holding separate NRO accounts effectively has two limits. None of this restricts genuine current income like rent, which can be remitted as it arises, subject to the usual 15CA/15CB where applicable. Our NRI repatriation & FEMA service can plan the timing.