Buying Property in Patna from Outside: NRI & Migrant Guide 2026

At a glance: where you live decides what to watch

For an Indian citizen in another state, nothing changes: same rules and same registry cost as a Patna resident. Since 18 June 2026 that is normally 7% stamp duty plus 2% fee. It is charged on the deed price or MVR, whichever is higher. A man selling to a woman pays 6.6% + 1.9%: Patna registry charges.

What can an NRI buy in Patna, and what not?

Under Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules, an NRI (an Indian citizen living abroad) or an OCI cardholder:

• Can buy any immovable property in India, such as a house, flat, plot or shop, except agricultural land, farmhouses and plantation property. The seller can be a resident Indian, an NRI or an OCI.
• Needs no prior RBI permission to buy or sell such non-agricultural property.

A Patna warning: around Bihta, Naubatpur, Punpun, Fatuha and the Danapur side, many "plots" are pieces cut out of farmland. If the land is agricultural, buying it in an NRI's name can put the purchase at risk. Before any token, check the land type in the khatiyan/jamabandi and how the land is used on site. If in doubt, ask an expert or a CA.

How should an NRI pay?

• Payment must be received in India through banking channels: money remitted from abroad, or from your NRE, FCNR(B) or NRO account.
• Traveller's cheques and foreign currency notes are not allowed.
• Pay only into the seller's or builder's own account, in the same name as on the papers. Get the amounts written into the deed. Never cash, never a middleman's account. The same applies if you live elsewhere in India.

How to check land or a flat in Patna without being there

Most Bihar land records are online, so you can do this from Pune or Dubai:

What can't be checked online:

• Possession: who occupies the land, how wide the road is, what neighbours say. Send someone you trust and walk the site with them on a video call.
• Measurement: get an amin. Patna plots are sold in kattha and dhur (typically 1 kattha ≈ 1,361.25 sq ft = 20 dhur). It varies by area, so match the deed. Any area: kattha to sq ft converter.
• Waterlogging: after Patna's 2019 floods, the first question. Get a video of the site in the monsoon.

Most frauds happen where the buyer trusts papers and photos from a middleman. Match every document yourself on the government portals.

Registry day: come yourself, or use a power of attorney

The safest option is to be at the sub-registrar's office yourself. Your identity and signature then come directly from you. Practical: do the checks, token and draft deed remotely. Then take 2–3 days off just for the registry.

Can't come? An agent holding a power of attorney can present the deed. But the POA must be made and authenticated the right way:

• Living in India: before the Registrar or Sub-Registrar where you live.
• Living abroad: before a Notary Public, a court, judge or magistrate, an Indian Consul or Vice-Consul, or a Central Government representative. It must be stamped within three months of first arriving in India.
• Stamp duty: ₹1,000 for buying or completing a registry on your behalf, or for selling through a family member; sale-level duty if a non-family agent sells.
• Give it to a trusted family member, for one specific property only, and revoke it once done.

Ask the same sub-registry office in advance what they need in your absence (helpdesk 14544). A badly made POA can stall the registry. Fees, family definition and how to cancel: power of attorney in Bihar. Seller using a POA? Video-call the actual owner and check it hasn't been revoked.

TDS on property worth ₹50 lakh or more: what the buyer must do

The Income-tax Act, 2025 has applied since 1 April 2026; the property TDS rule is now Section 393 (old 194-IA).

What should you do? (our advice)

• Trust the government portals, not the middleman: check the jamabandi, the prohibited list, the seller's deed and RERA yourself.
• NRI? Check the land type first. If it is agricultural, stop and take advice.
• Pay only by bank, into the seller's own account.
• Come for the registry yourself. If you can't, a one-property POA to a family member, confirmed with the office beforehand.
• After registry: dakhil-kharij online within 90 days (free, from anywhere: how), yearly lagan at bhulagan.bihar.gov.in, SMS alerts on your khesra, and a boundary wall and name board on an empty plot.
• Full plot checklist: Patna plot-buying guide.

FAQs: buying property in Patna from outside

1. Can an NRI inherit property or receive it as a gift?

   Yes. An NRI can inherit property. An NRI can also receive non-agricultural property as a gift from a resident of India or from a relative who is an NRI/OCI.

2. I'm an NRI and inherited farmland. Can I sell it?

   Yes, but only to an Indian citizen resident in India; a gift likewise.

3. Should I buy in a relative's name instead?

   You can, but remember: the legal owner is whoever's name is on the deed. Take advice before doing it to get around the NRI farmland rule.

4. The seller is an NRI. Does the 1% TDS apply?

   No. A separate rule applies (since 1 October 2026 it is reported in Schedule E of Form 141). Have a CA work out the TDS before you pay; getting it right is the buyer's responsibility.