Hi again,

Well after our first 2 week holiday of the year in sunny Goa, got back Tuesday 17th, its another tale of woe and wonderment and some satisfaction.
I visited our accountant 2 days after arriving in Goa to have our yearly meeting for filing of the accounts. He informs me he has submitted 05/06 & 06/07 returns etc and they were rejected. Long story about why they were but suffice it to say I did inform him of certain information in year 05 which may cause a problem. He advised my question was not serious and we were okay to proceed. Anyway he wanted us to visit another lawyer in Panjim for advice etc and to be honest I thought "here we go again". Anyway long story short after being told he hadnt filed our returns until late 08 and that we had paid him each year for this I just left his office. I called him later that day and informed him we were selling our 1 bed flat.

Anyway purpose of this is to inform others on this site as to what happened next. A friend of mine contacted a broker that same day and he visited me at 2.00 pm. By 5.30 pm that day after 2 prospective buyers viewing the flat we had a firm buyer. One day later we were given a 1 lac deposit.This guy was also a lawyer as well as a doctor and he took a copy of our sales agreement to have it cancelled etc etc. He also arranged the payments for the appartment. Anyway as we were in Goa for 2 weeks only things had to move fast. That they did. However when he examined the sales agreement we had he stated it was invalid. reason being was the stamp duty paid. Evidently it should have been substantially more than the 20 rupees attached to the agreement and the original lawyer we used should have known this. After arranging everything with our builder regarding the "confirming party" signature we paid the builder 10k rupees for his trouble.

I was very dubious about this sale proceeding in 7 working days but proceed it did. As we flew out last Tuesday the appartment is now sold. We sold at a reduced price(still made a good profit) and we paid a broker a good fee, but to give him his due he had people coming to view every day for 2 days. I have also found a very trustworthy business man who invited us to his home, made us welcome, gave us a nice meal and introduced us to all his family. Obviously he got a good deal but he has helped other people in similar situations and they to agree he is one of the few trustworthy and competant Goans I have met.

So to summarise if you know the right people and you are prepared for things to move fast you can get out of Goa in tact and without to much hassle and with your spondulix to boot. It was a rollercoaster ride but well worth it as we felt we were now above the radar due to our accountants and lawyers errors. Finally when out in Margao with my contact we met another builder who was cancelling 32 sales agreements with foreigners who were mislead by lawyers etc etc. He confirmed it was a mass exodus from Goa by the Brits.
It was a simple task to cancel our agreement much to our surprise.

I have missed out some info as it really was a long story.

Regards DJ

Good for you. Have you actually got the money.

Would like to think that somebody has beaten the system.

Thank you for that - there is hope then.

Em, hope a wing and a prayer is all we have left.

I have heard many stories like your's Selling is no problem it is getting the money back into the UK.I know to 4 friends of ours that have slod but they can't get the money out of India.So they have ended up with no home and no money,Never in a million years could they spend 35 lahk which is what is sitting a personal account in Goa
I would be very interested to know if you have got your dosh back into the UK and if you well done and congratulation
GC

Yes all out but it was only a small sum in comparison with other peoples houses. Exchange rate charged was 73 rs to the £

When we bought the flat we got the flat 1 lac was 81 rs, approx £1200 so with the exchange rate as it is 73 was great. Made £1k on the exchange rate alone.
dj

Then I really do salute you sir as my friends are in a real mess with all their money stuck in a Goan bank well done

Goacrazy, why can't your friends withdraw the funds in the UK with a debit card, on a joint account you can withdraw £10k per annum (£5k on each card). I wouldn't withdraw more than this amount as the RBI could detect it and stop the cards.

Hi DJ
Would you be generous enough to ley us know how you managed to withdraw funds? Did you have to take it out of your account bit by bit? How much is allowed in one transaction? Also where did you change it back to sterling? Any help would be most appreciated

Regards
J

Thanks Ill pass your suggestion on but it stinks really they bought the money in through proper banking channel FRICs everything and RBI have just refused to let them Swift it to the UK,its a criminal
GC:curse::curse:

Do you know if the RBI gave a reason? According to their own rules you should be able to take out what you originally paid, though I have heard that they sometimes insist on a Chartered Accountants affidavit that CGT has been paid on the profit.

AndyD 8-)#

They have been into RBI yesterday for an explanation I am awaiting an update off them today and will post as soon as I know.They are not very hopeful as their bank have actually jumped through hoops for them,they have been in to RBI personally to deal with their case and have said they can't understand it as all money was remitted correctly and all paperwork is correct
I feel so sorry for them this is all their saving that is stuck in India and they have had such a rough deal in Goa they hate the place now and never want to return

So many people who rent for 6 months are saying they are not coming back next season. Also Apartment owners who have had their fill of the D of E's harrasment are going elsewhere for a change and to recharge their batteries. Goa is going to be so quiet next season.

At this moment in time we are not returning either.

I have an account in the Centurion Bank in Calingute for 3 years. I regularly top it up when i am in India.Its much safer than travelling around with travellers cheques. I do a lot of travelling in India. The cash point card they give you is Maestro or Siera backed. I have used it in Germany,the UK and Nepal. Some times for sums as big as £200. I have never had any problems with extracting money from the bank or the authorities in Delhi and Panjiim.

I guess you mean HDFC? They seem to be the current owners. Having bought it from Bank of Punjab, who took over the Singapore interests in Centurion.
Sorry John, in these times I find it difficult to have any confidence in these Indian banks.
Plus the law here forbids us to have a bank account without a current visa, a whole different kettle of worms, innit?