Britons seek help from commission

Britons seek help from commission
Foreigners In Goa Unnerved By ED Action, Fear Eviction
Preetu Nair | TNN

Panaji: The two British nationals, against whom the Mumbai enforcement directorate (ED) acted for “illegally” purchasing property in Goa, have written to the British high commission for help. The ED action has unnerved other foreigners who fear confiscation of their home or even eviction.
“For the last six months we have been worried about our home being confiscated and us being rendered homeless and bankrupt. We are living a nightmare and the situation is mentally destructive, nerve wrecking and emotionally disturbing,” said 53-year-old British national Jean (name changed), who was issued summons by the ED to present her home registration documents.
Jean bought a 162 sq m apartment in Arpora in 2002 after selling her UK property and “after fulfilling all requirements under law to purchase property in India”.
Another Dutch national, who purchased an apartment in Kevim in 2004, is still awaiting clearance from the investigators. “The impression we get is that the Goa government may like to have us as tourists but not as residents. If that’s the case then I am willing to sell off my property in Goa and I promise never to return here. But it would be wrong to snatch everything away from us when we have spent money on lawyers and paper work to ensure that everything is done legally.”
The Dutch national says she spent time researching local property laws and talking to people who had already bought in Goa. “We have always tried to do what is legal. If our house is snatched and we are wrongfully fined for illegalities we never committed, then we will be literally in the gutter,” she added. They are on a five year X visa.
Meanwhile, the two British nationals — Nicholas Joseph Papa and his friend Michael Denis Cooper — who have a house in Corona, North Goa, have written to the British high commission, Mumbai, seeking intervention and help. “We feel that our government should investigate and intervene to help us as we have not done anything illegal. They should take up the matter with the Indian government as we wouldn’t be investing our life’s savings in something that is illegal,” said Papa.
Papa said that they were on a business visa when they purchased their first house on May 25, 2001, after a stay of 231 days, which they later sold. “We purchased the second house in September 2006 when we were on a five year X visa (permission to reside in a country without employment or business for a longer period) after staying in the country for 339 days. We never purchased property while on a tourist visa,” said Cooper.
Incidentally, even though North Goa additional collector in his letter to the ED on September 23 said that “unless a conversion sanad is obtained, the property continues to be agricultural though it falls under ‘R-zone/settlement zone’ as per zoning under the town and country planning department,” the fact remains that several sale deeds were done by sub-registrars and foreigners were given house number, house tax and provided electricity.
Advocate Vikram Varma dealing with cases of foreigners who have invested in property in Goa said, “The government has misinterpreted the provisions of FEMA. I have examined the documents and find no violation of FEMA in letter or spirit.”
Joint secretary of the state government Anupam Kishore said, “There has been no misinterpretation of FEMA and action has been initiated against foreign nationals who have contravened FEMA regulations. They also have a right to defend themselves. Most of them have given an affidavit before sub-registrars’ that they were residents in India, which was false.”

January 8, 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition