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Archive / Investment Adviser (Level 2) / Retirement Products
nism-series-xb-nri-repatriation-nre-nro-usd-1m-lrs-rules[ INVESTMENT ADVISER (LEVEL 2) ]

Under RBI Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) guidelines, what is the maximum annual repatriation limit for an NRI remitting funds overseas from an NRO Bank Account?

[ A ]Unlimited repatriation with zero tax certification.
[ B ]Maximum USD 100 per financial year.
[ C ]Maximum USD 1,000,000 (USD 1 Million) per financial year, subject to payment of applicable taxes and submission of Form 15CA and Form 15CB CA certification.[ CORRECT ]
[ D ]NRO funds can never be repatriated overseas under any circumstances.
Takeaway

Option C is correct: Maximum USD 1,000,000 (USD 1 Million) per financial year, subject to payment of applicable taxes and submission of Form 15CA and Form 15CB CA certification.

Derivation
NRO accounts hold an NRI's India-sourced income — rent, dividends, local business income — and RBI treats repatriation from this account differently from an NRE account, which holds foreign-earned money and is freely repatriable without a cap. From an NRO account, an NRI can repatriate up to USD 1 Million per financial year, but only after settling applicable Indian taxes and completing the paperwork: Form 15CA, a self-declaration, and Form 15CB, a Chartered Accountant's certification confirming tax compliance, both required by the remitting bank before releasing funds abroad. This ceiling exists because NRO funds represent domestic earnings that could otherwise move offshore without tax authorities ever verifying Indian tax was paid.
Why the others fail
A — Unlimited repatriation with zero tax certification.
NRO accounts hold domestic Indian earnings and are capped at USD 1 Million per year under RBI rules; unrestricted repatriation without tax certification is not permitted.
B — Maximum USD 100 per financial year.
USD 100 per financial year is an unworkably small figure that does not reflect the actual USD 1 Million annual repatriation ceiling RBI permits from NRO accounts.
D — NRO funds can never be repatriated overseas under any circumstances.
RBI explicitly permits NRO repatriation up to USD 1 Million per financial year, provided Form 15CA and 15CB tax compliance documentation is completed.