The headline number
From an NRO account, an NRI or person of Indian origin may remit up to US $1 million per financial year. That covers balances, sale proceeds and inherited assets, on documentary evidence plus an undertaking your bank will ask for.
This is the figure people mean when they say "the NRI repatriation limit".
When the cap does not apply
Money held on a repatriable basis is not subject to it.
If you invested through the repatriable route, your capital and gains can move out without that annual ceiling. The same is true of funds in an NRE account.
So the cap is not really a limit on NRIs. It is a limit on one specific route.
Which route are you on?
You chose this when you invested, whether you realised it or not.
- Repatriable. Money comes in from abroad or from an NRE account. Listed-share purchases run through a designated bank branch. Proceeds can go back out freely.
- Non-repatriable. The investment is treated as domestic money, on a par with a resident's. Simpler to operate, and some funds prefer it because it is not counted as foreign investment. But proceeds stay in India unless you use the US $1 million allowance.
Why this needs deciding before you invest
Because changing route afterwards usually means selling and re-buying, with the tax and costs that follow.
If there is any chance you will want this money outside India, say so at account-opening. It is a five-minute conversation then and an expensive one later.
What about tax on the way out?
Repatriation is not itself a taxable event. What matters is the tax on the underlying gain, which is deducted at source when you sell.
If a treaty gives you a lower rate, claiming it needs a residency certificate from your own country plus an Indian information form, now called Form 41. Your bank will also want certification that taxes have been dealt with before it releases the remittance.