Form 15CA / 15CB Filing
Your bank will not release a foreign remittance without these. The real question is not which form to file but whether the payment is taxable in India at all — and that answer decides whether you withhold nothing or twenty per cent.
Starts at ₹1,499 per remittance, CA certificate included
What are Form 15CA and 15CB?
When money leaves India for a non-resident, section 195 of the Income-tax Act requires the payer to withhold tax on any part of that payment which is chargeable to tax in India. Form 15CA is the payer’s declaration about the remittance. Form 15CB is a chartered accountant’s certificate on its taxability and the rate applied.
Banks treat these as gatekeeping documents: no forms, no wire. But their real purpose is to fix responsibility. If tax should have been withheld and was not, the liability falls on the remitter — along with interest and a disallowance of the expense.
Not every remittance needs both forms, and a meaningful number need neither. Which part of Form 15CA applies depends on the amount and on whether the sum is chargeable to tax at all.
Where the judgement sits
Business profits of a foreign supplier with no permanent establishment in India are usually not taxable here. Royalty, interest, technical services and capital gains usually are.
A DTAA can reduce withholding on royalties and fees for technical services well below the domestic rate — but only with the right documents in hand before you remit.
The non-resident must file Form 10F on the Indian income-tax portal. Paper declarations are no longer accepted, and this catches out most first-time remitters.
Where the contract says the foreign party receives a net amount, the tax has to be grossed up under section 195A. Missing this understates the withholding.
Rule 37BB exempts a specified list of personal and capital-account transactions from both forms entirely. Filing anyway is harmless but unnecessary.
The remitter, not the recipient, carries the consequence of under-withholding. This is why banks insist and why the certificate matters.
Documents required
About the payment
- Invoice or agreement with the non-resident
- Nature of the remittance and the purpose code
- Amount in foreign currency and the proposed date of remittance
- Bank details of the remitter and the beneficiary
About the recipient
- Tax residency certificate issued by the recipient’s home country
- Form 10F, filed electronically on the Indian income-tax portal
- No permanent establishment declaration, where treaty benefit is claimed
- PAN of the non-resident, where available
About the remitter
- PAN and TAN
- Digital signature for filing Form 15CA
- Details of any earlier remittances to the same party in the financial year
Not sure which package fits?
A specialist will map your situation to the right plan in one call.
How a remittance is cleared
- Characterise the paymentDay 1
We work out what the payment actually is — business profit, royalty, fees for technical services, interest or capital gain. This single decision drives everything else.
- Test chargeabilityDay 1–2
We check whether the income is chargeable in India under the Act, and then whether a treaty reduces or eliminates it.
- Collect treaty documentsDays 2–4
Tax residency certificate, electronically filed Form 10F and a no-PE declaration, where treaty benefit is being claimed.
- Issue Form 15CBDay 4
Our chartered accountant certifies the taxability, the rate and the amount to be withheld.
- File Form 15CA and remitDay 5
The correct part of Form 15CA is filed and the acknowledgement handed to your bank so the wire can be released.
Transparent pricing
Single Remittance
₹1,499
one payment, 15CA + 15CB
- Taxability assessment
- Form 15CB certificate
- Form 15CA filing
- Bank documentation pack
- DTAA opinion
- Form 10F assistance
Treaty Remittance
₹3,999
DTAA benefit claimed
- Everything in Single Remittance
- DTAA rate opinion
- Form 10F assistance for the payee
- No-PE declaration drafted
- Grossing-up computation
- Annual retainer
Remittance Desk
₹24,999
per year, up to 24 remittances
- Everything in Treaty Remittance
- Up to 24 remittances a year
- Standing treaty documentation
- Section 195(2) applications where needed
- Priority same-day turnaround
All prices are professional fees exclusive of GST at 18%. Government fees and stamp duty are charged at actuals and shown before you pay.
Which part of Form 15CA applies?
| Situation | Form 15CA part | Is 15CB needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable remittance, up to ₹5 lakh in the financial year | Part A | No |
| Taxable remittance above ₹5 lakh, with an order or certificate from the assessing officer | Part B | No |
| Taxable remittance above ₹5 lakh, without an AO order | Part C | Yes |
| Remittance not chargeable to tax in India | Part D | No |
| Transaction on the Rule 37BB specified list | None | No |
The ₹5 lakh threshold is aggregate for the financial year, not per transaction. Rule 37BB exempts a specified list of remittances — largely personal and capital-account items such as certain imports, travel and family maintenance — from both forms entirely.
The judgement calls that matter
Software payments are the perennial argument
Whether payment for software is a royalty or a business profit has been litigated for two decades. The Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in the Engineering Analysis case held that payments for shrink-wrapped and distributor software are not royalty under most treaties, and so are not subject to withholding where the supplier has no permanent establishment here. The characterisation still needs doing case by case, but the default answer changed.
Fees for technical services and the make-available test
Several Indian treaties — notably with the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore — only tax technical services where the service “makes available” technical knowledge to the recipient. Ordinary consulting that does not transfer know-how often falls outside. This is one of the most valuable and most overlooked reliefs.
Treaty benefit needs documents, in advance
You cannot apply a treaty rate on the basis that one exists. You need a tax residency certificate from the recipient’s home jurisdiction, an electronically filed Form 10F, and usually a no-permanent-establishment declaration. Collecting these after the payment has gone out is not the same thing.
Grossing up under section 195A
Where the agreement provides that the non-resident receives a fixed net sum, the tax is borne by the remitter and the remittance must be grossed up. A 10% withholding on a net-of-tax contract is not 10% of the invoice — it is 11.11% of it. This arithmetic is a routine source of short deduction.
When to ask the assessing officer
Where the position is genuinely uncertain or the sums are large, an application under section 195(2) for a determination of the appropriate portion chargeable to tax is safer than a certificate and an argument later. It takes longer, but it ends the exposure.
Forms 15CA, 15CB and 10F are all filed on the income-tax e-filing portal; the remittance itself is governed by Reserve Bank of India rules under FEMA.
After the remittance
Tax withheld under section 195 has to be deposited by the 7th of the following month and reported in a Form 27Q return for the quarter. The remittance is not finished when the wire clears.
Keep the file together: invoice, agreement, tax residency certificate, Form 10F, no-PE declaration, 15CB, 15CA acknowledgement and the bank advice. If the position is questioned two or three years later, this is the file that answers it, and reconstructing it from scratch is difficult.
Where you remit to the same party repeatedly, standing documentation refreshed annually saves the whole exercise each time. Tax residency certificates are issued per year and expire.
Frequently asked questions
When is Form 15CB required?
When the remittance is chargeable to tax in India and exceeds ₹5 lakh in aggregate during the financial year, and you do not hold an order or certificate from the assessing officer. Below that threshold, or where the payment is not taxable, Part A or Part D of Form 15CA is enough.
Are all foreign remittances covered?
No. Rule 37BB lists specified remittances — largely personal and capital-account transactions — that need neither form. Everything else requires at least the relevant part of Form 15CA.
What documents does the foreign recipient need to provide?
A tax residency certificate from their home country, Form 10F filed electronically on the Indian portal, and usually a declaration that they have no permanent establishment in India. Without these, treaty rates cannot be applied.
Is Form 10F still accepted on paper?
No. Form 10F must be filed electronically on the Indian income-tax portal. This normally requires the non-resident to register on the portal, which is worth starting early.
Who is liable if tax is under-withheld?
The remitter. Under-withholding results in a demand for the shortfall with interest, and the expense can be disallowed in computing the remitter’s own taxable income.
How long does the process take?
Usually within the week where documents are in order. The delay is almost always in obtaining the tax residency certificate and Form 10F from the overseas party, so start those first.
Official references
The statutory sources behind this page. We keep our guidance aligned to them — verify anything time-sensitive directly.
- Income Tax DepartmentReturns, forms, rates and e-filing utilities
- TRACESTDS certificates and justification reports
- Ministry of Corporate AffairsCompanies Act filings, forms and fee schedules
Content on this page is reviewed by a chartered accountant or advocate at LexVerge LLP. It is general guidance, not advice on your specific facts.