Form 15CA and 15CB for Foreign Remittance

Overview

When a person in India pays a non-resident, the Income Tax Department wants to know whether tax applies to that payment. Form 15CA is the remitter's declaration of the payment and its taxability. Form 15CB is a certificate from an authorised professional on the nature of the payment, the rate of tax and any treaty benefit. Banks and authorised dealers ask for the filed Form 15CA before they send the money abroad. This service prepares the right form, with the professional certificate where it is needed, before the bank deadline.

Who needs it

• Companies paying overseas vendors for software, consulting, royalties or fees for technical services.
• Firms, LLPs and proprietors paying interest, commission or fees abroad.
• Individuals sending taxable amounts to non-residents.
• Trusts and non-profits paying foreign parties.
• Businesses whose bank has asked for 15CA or 15CB before an outward wire.

What Zenith does

Zenith listens first about the payment: who is being paid, for what, and how much. A relationship manager is assigned and an assignment-specific checklist is shared. The certificate in Form 15CB is issued only by an authorised professional, subject to eligibility and applicable rules. The team:

• Decides whether the payment is chargeable to tax in India, using the contract, the nature of income and the treaty with the recipient's country.
• Identifies the correct part of Form 15CA.
• Examines the Tax Residency Certificate and Form 10F where a treaty rate is claimed.
• Checks the TDS to be deducted and the challan details.
• Has the authorised professional issue Form 15CB with a digital signature, where it applies.
• Prepares and files Form 15CA from your login and gives you the acknowledgement for the bank.

Eligibility and key rules

Form 15CA has four parts, based on Rule 37BB:

Part	When it applies	Professional certificate
A	Taxable payment, within the Rs 5 lakh limit for the financial year	Not needed
B	Payment with an order or certificate of the Assessing Officer under section 195(2), 195(3) or 197	Not needed
C	Taxable payment above Rs 5 lakh in the financial year	Form 15CB needed first
D	Payment not chargeable to tax	Not needed, but form still filed

• A list of specified payments in Rule 37BB needs no 15CA. Examples in public guides include imports of goods, certain travel, education and medical remittances, and limited personal remittances.
• The tax rate and treaty benefit depend on the nature of income and on the recipient's documents.
• Tax withholding under section 195 is separate from the form: the forms disclose it, they do not replace it.
• Public sources note that, under the Income-tax Act, 2025, equivalent forms are numbered 145 and 146. Zenith confirms the form numbers in force on the date of payment.

Documents required

• PAN and TAN of the remitter, with portal access.
• Invoice, contract or agreement with the foreign party.
• Name, address, country and tax identification of the recipient.
• Amount in rupees and in foreign currency, with the bank and purpose code.
• Nature of the payment: royalty, fees for technical services, interest, dividend or other.
• Tax Residency Certificate and Form 10F from the recipient where treaty relief is claimed.
• Evidence of TDS deducted and deposited, with challan.
• Assessing Officer certificate for Part B.
• Details of the professional's registration and DSC, handled by Zenith.

Process and timeline

1. Share the payment details and invoice in the request form.
2. The professional classifies the payment and checks the treaty position.
3. Form 15CB is prepared and signed by the authorised professional (Part C cases) and its acknowledgement number is noted.
4. Form 15CA is filled under the right part and verified by you through Aadhaar OTP, net banking or DSC.
5. The acknowledgement is downloaded and handed to the bank before the transfer.
6. The remittance is also reflected in the return for the year.

Timelines depend on document completeness, treaty analysis and the bank's own processing. Share the invoice early if the transfer is urgent.

Government fees, penalties and due dates

• There is no government fee to file Form 15CA or 15CB on the portal.
• Filing is required before the remittance is made, so the due date is set by the payment date.
• Not filing, or filing wrong information in, Form 15CA attracts a penalty of Rs 1 lakh under section 271-I according to the sources read.
• Not deducting TDS on a taxable foreign payment can lead to disallowance of the expense under section 40(a)(i).
• Short deduction carries interest at 1.5% per month under section 201(1A).
• Professional fees are customised, and government fees (if any) are shown separately in the quotation.

Amounts and dates above reflect public sources read in October 2026 and change with notifications, so Zenith confirms the current figures in your quotation.

Common mistakes

• Treating a taxable payment as exempt without reading the treaty or the contract.
• Choosing Part A or D when the case needs a professional certificate.
• Missing the Tax Residency Certificate, so the treaty rate cannot be used.
• Splitting payments to stay under the Rs 5 lakh limit, when the test is the aggregate for the financial year.
• Filing after the bank has asked, so the transfer is held up.
• Mismatch between the invoice currency, amount and the form.
• Forgetting to deduct and deposit TDS.

FAQs