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Nigeria

Selling your Indian property while living in Nigeria, with no DTAA

I'm in Lagos, selling my Mumbai flat, and the buyer says he must cut 12.5% TDS on the whole price. Is there a Nigeria treaty rate, and can I stop that?

You live in Nigeria, usually Lagos or Abuja, and you're selling an Indian flat, often ancestral, in Mumbai, Surat or your home town. The buyer has told you he's legally bound to deduct 12.5 percent TDS on the entire sale price, and you're hunting for an India-Nigeria treaty rate to bring that down. There isn't one. But there is a single India-side lever that cuts the deduction from the full price to tax on just your gain, and the relief for the sale being taxed again in Nigeria is handled a different way.
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Last reviewed: 1 October 20267 min readReviewed by Preetesh Maloo, CA

The short answer

No, there is no India-Nigeria treaty, so there is no treaty rate and no Form 10F or TRC route to lower the TDS on your property sale. By default the buyer must deduct under Section 195 (Section 393(2) from FY 2026-27) at 12.5 percent on the full sale value, not the gain, for a long-term sale on or after 23 July 2024 with no indexation, plus surcharge and cess, so the effective bite is roughly 13 to 15 percent of the whole price. The one lever that fixes this is a Form 13 lower-TDS certificate (Form 128 from FY 2026-27) under Section 197 (Section 395 from FY 2026-27). Applied for before the sale, it tells the buyer to deduct on your actual capital gain, and you can build in Section 54 or 54EC reinvestment so the certificate figure drops further. Because there's no treaty, relief for the gain being taxed again in Nigeria sits on the Nigerian side under Nigeria's own rules, not on India's Section 91.

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Related situations

Is there a DTAA between India and Nigeria for a property sale?

No. India has tax treaties with more than 90 countries, but Nigeria is not one of them, so there is no capital-gains article to cap or carve out the tax on your sale, and no Form 10F (Form 41 from FY 2026-27) or Tax Residency Certificate route, because those exist only where a treaty exists. If a website quotes you a 7.5 or 10 percent India-Nigeria rate on your property gain, it has confused Nigeria with a treaty country.

So the gain is taxed purely under Indian domestic law, at the ordinary non-resident rate, and the buyer withholds it at source. Losing the treaty doesn't mean you're stuck with the default deduction. It means your one saving lever is domestic: a lower-TDS certificate, not a treaty claim.

By default the buyer deducts 12.5% on your full sale value

For a long-term sale, one held more than 24 months, the buyer must deduct under Section 195 (Section 393(2) from FY 2026-27) at 12.5 percent on the entire sale value, not on your profit, with no threshold below which it's skipped.

On a long-term NRI property saleDeduction
Base TDS rate12.5% of full sale value
Plus surcharge (capped at 15% for LTCG) and 4% cessEffective 13% to 15%
Computed onThe whole price, not the gain

The 12.5 percent no-indexation rate applies to a sale on or after 23 July 2024. Before that it was 20 percent with indexation. If you've held the flat under 24 months it's a short-term sale, taxed at your slab rate, and the deduction is higher still. On a ₹1.5 crore flat that default withholding locks up more than ₹20 lakh on registration day, most of it money you'd never actually owe.

Form 13 is the single lever that cuts it, and you apply before you sell

One certificate does the work a treaty would have done. Before the sale, apply for a Form 13 lower-TDS certificate (Form 128 from FY 2026-27) under Section 197 (Section 395 from FY 2026-27). You submit the projected capital gain, the cost proof and any reinvestment you're claiming, and the Assessing Officer issues a certificate telling the buyer to deduct on your actual gain instead of the full price.

The gain itself can be cut too. Reinvesting under Section 54 or 54EC, and building that into the same application, drops the certificate figure further, sometimes to near nil. Where a flat has co-owners, each owner applies for their own certificate. The catch is timing: the certificate only works if it's in the buyer's hands before he pays, so start it weeks ahead of registration.

Where the double-tax relief sits: on the Nigeria side, not India's Section 91

Nigeria taxes its residents on worldwide income, so once you've paid Indian tax on the gain, Nigeria can tax the same gain again. The relief for that is claimed on the Nigerian side, under Nigeria's own foreign-tax-relief rules, not on your Indian return. From 1 January 2026 the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 folds an individual's capital gains into personal income tax, taxed at rates up to 25 percent, where it used to be a flat 10 percent. Your Nigerian advisor sets the Indian tax you paid against that Nigerian bill; we hand over the India-tax-paid figures they need.

Section 91, India's unilateral relief that many Nigeria guides cite, runs the opposite way. It helps a person resident in India who paid tax abroad, not an NRI's Indian-source gain. It becomes your lever only if you move back to India and still draw Nigerian income. On the Indian side your job is simply to keep the Indian tax as low as it can go, which is exactly what the Form 13 route does. If you also hold Indian FDs or shares, the refund route on that interest and dividend TDS works the same domestic way.

A worked example: Priya in Lagos sells her Mumbai flat

Priya, 44, has lived in Lagos for nine years and is a Nigerian tax resident. She's selling a Mumbai flat for ₹1.5 crore, with a long-term capital gain of about ₹50 lakh after cost.

With no certificate, the buyer must deduct 12.5 percent on the full ₹1.5 crore, about ₹18.75 lakh, and with surcharge and cess the withholding is close to ₹22 lakh. Priya's real tax is on the ₹50 lakh gain, not the whole price, so most of that ₹22 lakh is money she'd have to chase back through a refund that takes months.

Instead she files Form 13 first. The certificate is computed on the ₹50 lakh gain: 12.5 percent is about ₹6.25 lakh, roughly ₹7 lakh with surcharge and cess, so the buyer deducts around ₹7 lakh rather than ₹22 lakh, a cash unlock of about ₹15 lakh on registration day. If she reinvests the ₹50 lakh gain in another Indian house under Section 54, the certificate figure can fall to near nil. Nigeria then credits the Indian tax she finally pays, but a foreign tax credit is capped at Nigeria's own tax on that gain, so it reduces the Nigerian bill rather than clearing it. Where Nigeria taxes the gain more heavily than India does, a residual Nigerian charge is left, and its size turns on her Nigerian band. That side is her Nigerian adviser's call, and our job is to hand him the India figures he needs.

What's involved

What the CA actually does

  1. 1

    Confirm there's no treaty shortcut on the sale

    We give you the position straight. With no India-Nigeria treaty there's no treaty rate and no Form 10F, so we don't send you chasing a certificate that does nothing and we go to the one that works.

  2. 2

    File Form 13 before the sale, with your exemptions built in

    We file the Form 13 lower-TDS certificate (Form 128 from FY 2026-27) on your actual gain, folding in any Section 54 or 54EC reinvestment, so the buyer deducts a fraction of the default and lakhs aren't locked up.

  3. 3

    Handle the sale-year return and recover any excess

    We file your Indian return for the sale year, claim your exemptions, and recover any TDS over-deducted as a refund with interest under Section 244A (Section 437 of the 2025 Act from tax year 2026-27). For a sale in an earlier year we use the Section 119(2)(b) 5-year window.

  4. 4

    Repatriate the proceeds and brief your Nigerian advisor

    We file Forms 15CA and 15CB (Forms 145 and 146 for a remittance from 1 April 2026) so the sale money can move from your NRO account to Nigeria, and we hand your Nigerian advisor the India-tax-paid detail they need to give you relief on the Nigerian side.

What to have ready

Documents you'll typically need

  • The sale agreement or draft sale deed and the agreed price
  • Purchase deed and cost proof, plus any improvement bills
  • Reinvestment plan if you're claiming Section 54 or 54EC
  • PAN, passport and your Nigeria residency status

References on this page

  • Section 195 (Section 393(2) from FY 2026-27): buyer's TDS on a payment to a non-resident, 12.5% on a long-term property gain, deducted on the full sale value by default
  • Section 194-IA's 1% TDS applies only to a resident seller; an NRI sale is deducted under Section 195 (Section 393(2) from FY 2026-27): with a TAN for a payment up to 30 September 2026; from 1 October 2026 a resident individual or HUF buyer needs no TAN and reports it with their PAN on Form 141, Schedule E
  • Long-term property gain, 12.5% without indexation for a sale on or after 23 July 2024 (Finance (No. 2) Act 2024); 20% with indexation before that date
  • Section 197 (Section 395 from FY 2026-27), Form 13 (Form 128 from FY 2026-27): lower-TDS certificate so the buyer deducts on the gain, not the whole price
  • Section 54 (Section 82 of the Income-tax Act 2025): LTCG exemption where the gain is reinvested in one Indian residential house, available to an NRI
  • Section 54EC (Section 85 of the Income-tax Act 2025): LTCG exemption up to ₹50 lakh reinvested within 6 months in REC, PFC or IRFC bonds, 5-year lock-in, available to an NRI
  • Section 244A (Section 437 of the Income-tax Act 2025 from tax year 2026-27): interest on a refund of excess TDS recovered by filing the Indian return
  • Section 119(2)(b) with CBDT Circular 11/2024: 5-year window to file a past-year return and claim a refund
  • No India-Nigeria DTAA, so no treaty rate on the gain; relief for Nigerian tax is claimed on the Nigeria side under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025

Frequently asked questions

Common questions

No, Nigeria is one of the few big corridors with no India treaty at all. South Africa, Kenya and Mauritius have one and their NRIs get a treaty rate, but you can't, so the only certificate worth filing is Form 13, before the sale.

Yes, but only by handing him the AO's Form 13 certificate, because your own word won't do it. A buyer over-deducts to protect himself, since he's the one the department chases for interest and penalty if he takes too little. The certificate is the single document that lets him deduct on your gain with no risk to him, so getting it issued is what actually changes his number.

Yes, both are open to NRIs. Section 54 exempts the gain if you reinvest it in one Indian residential house within the allowed window. Section 54EC exempts up to ₹50 lakh put into REC, PFC or IRFC bonds within six months of the sale, locked for five years. Between them an NRI can often bring the taxable gain down to little or nothing.

No, and it's a costly mistake to let slide. The 1 percent rate is Section 194-IA, which only applies when the seller is a resident. Because you're a non-resident, the buyer must deduct under Section 195 at the 12.5 percent long-term rate. For a payment up to 30 September 2026 he needs a TAN to do it, not just his PAN; from 1 October 2026 a resident individual or HUF buyer needs no TAN, reports it with their PAN on Form 141, Schedule E, still at the non-resident rate, and gives you Form 132 as the TDS certificate. Put the correct position to him in writing before registration so the deduction is right from the start.

Yes. File or revise the return for that year, claim your real gain and any exemption, and the excess comes back with interest under Section 244A. If the year is older and unfiled, the Section 119(2)(b) condonation route gives a 5-year window from the end of the assessment year to file and claim the refund.

The exceptions that change the answer

Where the general rule stops applying to you

Every rule below has a carve-out, a cut-off date or a condition that flips the answer. These are the ones that decide real cases.

TDS rate when buying property from an NRI

Right now: 12.5% plus surcharge and cess on LTCG

Where it works differently

The gain is short-term
TDS is at the applicable slab rate, effectively 30% plus surcharge and cess for most NRI sellers.
s.195 requires deduction at 'rates in force' for the actual character of the income.
No lower-deduction certificate is obtained
TDS applies to the ENTIRE SALE CONSIDERATION, not to the gain.
s.195 operates on the sum paid unless the AO determines otherwise. This is the whole commercial case for Form 13 / Form 128.
There are joint NRI sellers
TDS is deducted separately against each seller's PAN in their ownership proportion.
Rule 37BA. Deducting entirely against one PAN strands the other's credit.
The buyer deducts 1% under s.194-IA
Wrong section. The buyer becomes an assessee-in-default under s.201 for the shortfall plus 1% per month interest and penalty under s.271C.
s.194-IA applies only where the seller is a RESIDENT.

Commonly got wrong

  • TDS on property purchase is 1% over Rs 50 lakh. That is s.194-IA, for RESIDENT sellers only. For a non-resident seller it is s.195 at the full capital-gains rate, with no threshold.1% applies only if the seller is a resident. NRI seller means s.195 at 12.5% plus surcharge and cess on the whole consideration unless a certificate is obtained.
  • The buyer files Form 26QB. 26QB (Form 141 from 1 April 2026) was for s.194-IA resident sellers. Until 30 September 2026 an NRI-seller purchase needed a TAN and Form 27Q (Form 144 from 1 April 2026). From 1 October 2026 a resident individual or HUF buyer uses Form 141's new Schedule E against their PAN, but still deducts at the s.195 / s.393(2) rate, not 1%.Buying from an NRI, you deduct at the full capital-gains rate, not 1%. If you pay on or after 1 October 2026 and you are a resident individual or HUF, you report it on Form 141 Schedule E against your PAN and give the seller Form 132; no TAN is needed. Payments before that date needed a TAN and Form 27Q or Form 144.

How a resident individual buyer deposits TDS on an NRI's property

Right now: No TAN needed: a resident individual or HUF buyer deposits and reports the TDS on Form 141 Schedule E against their PAN and issues Form 132 to the seller

Where it works differently

The buyer is a company, firm, trust or an NRI
Still needs a TAN and files Form 144.
s.397(1)(c) as amended by the Finance Act 2026 (and the Fifth Amendment Rules that follow it) covers only resident individual and HUF buyers.
The payment is rent or interest to a non-resident
Not covered. The payer still needs a TAN.
The amendment is limited to consideration for transfer of immovable property.
The seller has no PAN
Schedule E asks for the seller's foreign contact details, Tax Residency Certificate details and foreign Tax Identification Number.
Used to decide the applicable rate.
Instalments straddle 1 October 2026
The route follows the date of each payment: instalments paid on or before 30 September 2026 go through TAN and Form 27Q / Form 144, later ones through Form 141 Schedule E.
Both the s.397(1)(c) amendment and the Fifth Amendment Rules take effect on 1 October 2026; neither source we read carves out agreements already signed, so treat the payment date as decisive and confirm on the portal.

Commonly got wrong

  • The TAN rule is gone, so the buyer deducts 1% like a resident sale. Only the reporting route changed. The rate is still the s.195 / s.393(2) rate on the whole consideration unless there is a lower-deduction certificate.From 1 October 2026 you do not need a TAN, but you still deduct at the full capital-gains rate for a non-resident seller and report it on Form 141 Schedule E.
  • Every buyer from an NRI can now skip the TAN. Only resident individuals and HUFs are covered.If the buyer is a company, firm, trust or itself a non-resident, it still needs a TAN and files Form 144.

LTCG rate: assets other than STT-paid listed equity (includes property)

Right now: 12.5% without indexation

Where it works differently

A RESIDENT individual or HUF sells land or a building acquired before 23 July 2024
May elect the lower of 12.5% without indexation or 20% with indexation.
Grandfathering proviso inserted by Finance (No. 2) Act 2024.
A NON-RESIDENT sells the same property
12.5% without indexation only. The election is NOT available.
The grandfathering proviso is expressly limited to resident individuals and HUFs. This is the highest-value NRI distinction on the site.
Shares or debentures of an Indian company were bought in convertible foreign exchange by a non-resident
The first proviso to s.48 computes the gain in that foreign currency, neutralising rupee depreciation. This is separate from, and not lost with, indexation.
First proviso to s.48 survives the 2024 changes.
Adding surcharge and cess
Surcharge on capital gains under s.111A/112/112A is capped at 15%, plus 4% health and education cess.
The cap applies to gains under s.111A, s.112 and s.112A.

Commonly got wrong

  • NRIs can choose 20% with indexation on property bought before July 2024. The election is resident-only. Stating otherwise understates an NRI's tax, which is the worst direction to be wrong in.Residents may elect 20% with indexation for pre-23-July-2024 land and buildings. Non-residents get 12.5% without indexation, full stop.
  • LTCG on property is 20%. Stale since 23 July 2024 unless the transfer predates it.12.5% for transfers on or after 23 July 2024.

Section 54 reinvestment time windows

Right now: Purchase within 1 year before or 2 years after the transfer; construction within 3 years

Where it works differently

The return due date arrives before the purchase
The unutilised gain must be deposited in a Capital Gains Account Scheme account BEFORE the due date, or the exemption is lost.
s.54(2). The single commonest way NRIs lose this exemption.
The gain came from an under-construction flat
The holding period runs from the allotment date in most rulings, not from possession.
Settled by several ITAT and High Court decisions.
The new house is sold within three years
The exemption is withdrawn and taxed in the year of that sale.
s.54(1) proviso.

Commonly got wrong

  • You have two years to reinvest, so no action is needed before filing. If the due date falls first, the money must sit in a CGAS account by then.You have two years to buy, but if your filing due date comes first, park the unutilised gain in a Capital Gains Account Scheme account before that date or the exemption goes.

Related

If this matched your situation, these go further

Is there a DTAA between India and Nigeria, and how do you avoid double tax?Getting back excess TDS the buyer cut on your property saleSaving capital-gains tax by reinvesting in another house (Section 54)Selling Indian property as a UAE residentForm 13 lower-TDS certificate (property sale)NRI ITR filing (we file for you)Repatriation unblock (15CA / 15CB)Property sale TDS calculator

Selling an Indian flat from Nigeria and facing 12.5% on the whole price?

Tell us the flat, the price and your cost. A practising CA will file Form 13 before your sale so the buyer deducts on your gain, not the full value, and hand your Nigerian advisor clean figures. Free call, no obligation.

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