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

Britons get ED notice on Goa property

Britons get ED notice on Goa property
Asked To Explain Why Govt Should Not Confiscate It
Preetu Nair | TNN

Panaji: Acting against foreigners “illegally” purchasing property in Goa, the Enforcement Directorate has slapped show a cause notice on two British nationals seeking to know why their property in Corona, North Goa, should not be confiscated.
The notice was based on a complaint filed by the assistant director of DoE under section 16 (3) of FEMA as the duo had failed to establish their status as “persons resident in India” and yet had purchased and sold property in India without obtaining RBI permission.
The notice, issued by K Nageshwar Rao, special director, DoE, on December 11, 2008, asks “why the property which is involved in the contravention of the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (1999) should not be confiscated to the Central government account”.
This is the first time a foreign national who had “illegally” invested in property in Goa has been issued a show cause notice for confiscation of the property by the ED. The state government has sent a list of 482 transactions by foreigners for the ED to investigate.
TOI had reported in June that the ED had come across reports that foreigners have purchased properties in excess of 100-acres in Goa and that of the 400 cases of FEMA violations in Goa referred to RBI, 74 had been forwarded to the ED. Earlier in May, the ED had served notices to foreigners asking them to appear for hearings.
In his complaint, the ED assistant director said he had received information from RBI about the purchase of immovable and agricultural property by foreign nationals, Nicholas Joseph Papa and his friend Michael Dennis Cooper, who “on tourist visa had purchased immovable properties in Goa in contravention of FEMA regulations”.
The complaint states that Nicholas declared that he had stayed in India for a period of more than 182 days, had residential permit visas and funds from abroad to purchase an old house of about 1,125 sq m in 2001 at Aldona, which he sold in 2006. In September 2006, he purchased another property of 928 sq m at Corona. “He had not taken RBI permission to purchase and sell the said properties,” the complaint notes. The value of the land is estimated at Rs 77, 25,000.
The complaint also notes that documents forwarded by the Britishers, including authenticated copies of their passports, visas, certificate of registration, residential permits describe the duo as “retired” and the purpose of their residing in India as “holiday”. However, they had purchased agricultural land in Aldona and declared themselves as “persons resident in India” in the sale deed dated September 7, 2006.
The complaint says that the Britishers had falsely declared themselves as persons “resident in India” and so are “prohibited from the acquisition of any immovable property in the form of agriculture or plantation farm house”.

January 7, 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition