Agricultural and Ancestral Land

The rule you need before anything else

Under India's exchange control regime, a non resident Indian or OCI cardholder generally may not purchase agricultural land, plantation property or a farmhouse. You may, however, inherit it. That is the distinction that governs most of what follows.

So people end up owning land they could never have bought, often an undivided share of a holding they have never walked across.

What you can and cannot do with it

• Inherit. Permitted.
• Continue to hold. Permitted.
• Buy more. Not permitted without approval.
• Sell. Generally to a person resident in India who is eligible to hold agricultural land. Several states add their own restrictions on who may buy farmland, including requirements that the buyer already be an agriculturist.
• Gift. Subject to the same eligibility questions.

State law matters as much as central law here, and it varies a great deal. Confirm the position in the specific state with a local lawyer before you agree anything.

Why valuing farmland is different

There are fewer recorded comparable transactions, prices vary sharply with irrigation and access, and the notified rate often sits far from what land actually changes hands for. The factors that move the number are specific:

• Irrigation source and reliability.
• Soil classification and current cropping.
• Road access and approach width.
• Distance from a developing periphery, which can dominate everything else.
• Whether conversion to non agricultural use is realistic, and whether any order exists.
• Encroachment, and whether a tenant or a cultivator is in possession.

Undivided shares and ancestral holdings

Where you own a fraction of a larger holding, the value of your share is not always the total divided by your fraction. Access, shape and which portion you would actually receive on partition all bear on it. The report addresses that rather than doing simple arithmetic.

What we need

• Survey number and village, which matter more than a postal address.
• Revenue records, and the record of rights where your state maintains one.
• Any partition deed or family settlement.
• Details of who is cultivating and under what arrangement.

What the report will say honestly

If the extent is unclear, the boundary disputed, or somebody is occupying land you believe is yours, we record it. A valuation that quietly ignores an encroachment is worth nothing to you when it matters.

What you get

A signed report from a government approved valuer, based on a real inspection, with the workings shown so the person reading it can follow how the figure was reached. Our registration number is printed on it. If anyone questions it later, the evidence is already in the file.

• An inspection that actually happened. Our engineer stands at the property. Every photograph carries the date, the time and the exact position.
• Comparable evidence, named. Real sales from the relevant area and the relevant period, identified so anyone can check them.
• Method stated openly. Which approach we used and why, with the adjustments set out rather than buried.
• The right date. A valuation is always as at a date. Get the date wrong and the number is useless even if the work is perfect.
• Currency where you need it. Rupees for the Indian side, converted for your side, with the exchange rate and its source stated.

How long it takes

Normally 48 to 72 hours from the site visit, once we have the basic papers. If it is urgent, tell us and we will treat it that way. For anything tied to a sale, start before you sign the agreement rather than after, because some of the biggest savings are only available in advance.

What it costs

It depends on the property type, its size and how far our engineer has to travel. Message us with the basic details and you get a firm figure before any work starts. No surprises later, and five percent off your first report.

What if the papers are missing

Very common, and usually not a problem. A deed from 1974 may simply not exist in the family any more. Records at the sub registrar office, property tax records and the notified rates for the area can normally fill the gap. Tell us what you do have and we will tell you straight away whether it is workable.

Questions people ask

Can an NRI or OCI holder own agricultural land?

You may inherit and continue to hold it. Buying agricultural land, plantation property or a farmhouse is generally not permitted without approval.

Who can I sell inherited farmland to?

Generally a person resident in India eligible to hold agricultural land. Several states add their own conditions on who may buy, so check with a local lawyer.

Is my undivided share worth total divided by my fraction?

Not always. Access, shape and which portion you would actually receive on partition all affect the value of a share.