A NRI is a Person Resident Outside India who is a citizen of India or a Person of Indian origin.
A Person resident outside India is a person who has gone out of India or who stays outside India, in either case

-	For or on taking up employment outside India, or
-	For carrying on outside India a business or vocation, or
-	For any other purpose, in such circumstances as would indicate his intention to stay outside India for an uncertain period

A person of Indian origin is an individual (not being a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh or Sri Lanka or Afghanistan or China or Iran or Nepal or Bhutan), who:

-	At any time, held Indian passport
-	Who or either of whose father or whose grandfather was a citizen of India by virtue of the Constitution of India or the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955).

Do non-resident Indian citizen require permission of Reserve Bank to acquire residential/ commercial property in India ?

No. An Indian citizen resident outside India does not require any permission to acquire any immovable property in India other than agricultural/ plantation property or a farmhouse.

Are there any formalities or forms to be filled/filed when either the Sale Deed or transfer documents is to be executed ?

Yes. The following are the formalities or forms to be filled/filed :

-	This depends from State to State in which the Property is situated. Every State has its set of forms under the Registration Rules that are required to be filled in and filed along with and at the time of Registration of Sale Deed/Transfer Deed
-	Under the provisions of the Income Tax Act and Rules for a transaction of sale, it is now compulsory for the Purchaser and Seller to give their Permanent Account Number and in the event of either the Seller and/ or the Purchaser would be required to fill Form 60 of the Income-Tax Rules
-	In case of either the Purchaser or the Seller being a Non-Resident Indian, not assessed to tax in India, such a Party would be required to file Form 60 of the Income-Tax Rules

Does registration of any Sale Deed or transfer documents attract any payment of statutory levies/duties ?

Yes. The following are the details:

1.	Stamp Duty is payable on Sale Deed or transfer documents and the amount of stamp duty varies from State to State.
2.	Apart from the Stamp Duty, the State may also collect levies/cess which would be in addition to such Stamp Duty.

Yes. Sale/transfer documents of any immovable Property of the value exceeding INR 100/- are compulsorily registrable documents - and such documents are required to be registered in the jurisdictional office of the Registrar of Assurances or Sub-Registrar, as may be provided by the Registration Rules of the State.

Can the properties (residential / commercial) owned by NRIs be given on rent if not required for immediate use ?

If the stamp duty is not paid on time it attracts penalty at the rate of 2% per month of the stamp duty that has to be paid. But it cannot exceed twice the amount of the stamp duty that has to be paid. Besides the penalty amount the defaulter will have to pay the amount of the stamp duty. According to govt. rules and regulations prevailing on any given date.

A purchaser must take following precautions while purchasing a property:

1.	Examine title of the property by investigating the source from which the seller acquired the property. This search can be conducted at the sub-registrar’’s office. It is advisable to investigate the title for the past thirty years or upto the orginal owner whichever is later. These are called "link documents". Latest tax receipts.
2.	An EC from the Registrar for 13 years.
3.	One must check if the appropriate stamp duty has been paid on all these documents.
4.	If the property is situated in a cooperative society the original share certificate should be examined.
5.	All documents examined, should be original to ensure that the seller has a clear title and that there are no encumbrances on the property such as lien or mortgage or any other charge. Non-availability of any original document should be taken seriously.
6.	If the flat is in a co-operative society, it is advisable to get a No-Objection Certificate even though it is no longer mandatory. By way of the NOC it will be clear if any dues of the society are pending and the purchaser can avoid future problems.
7.	It is also advisable to see the latest society bill and the latest electricity bill.
8.	The cost of land is increasing on a year to year basis & the market value is being taken into consideration by the govt. besides the occasional increase in govt. stamp duty & also registration fee.