Lower TDS Certificate, Form 13

What this report is for

Your buyer is legally obliged to deduct tax at source when they buy property from a non resident, and that deduction is calculated on the whole sale price, not on your profit. On a sale of one crore, a very large sum leaves the table before you see any of it, even where your actual gain is modest.

The application under the lower deduction route asks the department to authorise the buyer to deduct on your real gain instead. This report is the evidence that sits underneath it.

Why the valuation is the load bearing part

To argue your gain is smaller than the sale price, you have to prove your cost. For property bought before April 2001 that means establishing the 1 April 2001 value. For inherited property it means establishing the original owner's cost or that same 2001 figure. Without a defensible cost, there is nothing to apply with.

The sequence, in order

1. Valuation completed, ideally before the sale agreement is signed.
2. Your chartered accountant computes the expected gain from it.
3. The application is filed with the valuation as supporting evidence.
4. The certificate issues and names the rate the buyer must use.
5. The buyer deducts at that rate. Your money stays with you.

Timing is the whole game

The certificate has to exist before the buyer deducts. Once tax has been deducted at the full rate and deposited, the certificate cannot reach back and undo it. You are then claiming a refund, and waiting.

Processing is not instant. Start when you decide to sell, not when you have sold. That single piece of sequencing is worth more than anything else on this page.

What we need

• The purchase deed, or the deed of whoever you inherited from.
• The draft sale agreement or the agreed price.
• Your PAN and residential status details for your accountant.
• Details of any improvement expenditure you want counted.

An honest limit

We prepare the valuation. We do not file the application, and we do not promise a particular rate, because that decision belongs to the department. What we can do is give your accountant a cost figure that stands up when it is examined.

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

Why does my buyer deduct tax on the whole sale price?

When you buy property from a non resident, the law requires tax to be deducted at source on the sale consideration, not on the seller's profit. A lower deduction certificate changes that to tax on your actual gain.

Can the certificate be applied after the sale?

No. It has to exist before the buyer deducts. Once tax has been deducted at the full rate and deposited, the certificate cannot undo it, and you are left claiming a refund.

What does the valuation prove?

Your cost. To show your gain is smaller than the sale price you must evidence what the property cost, which for older or inherited property means its value on 1 April 2001.