Form 15CA and 15CB for Foreign Remittances: A Remitter's Guide

If you are sending money out of India to a non-resident, you are the remitter, and the law expects you to declare that payment to the Income Tax Department before the bank releases the funds. That declaration is Form 15CA, and in many taxable cases a Chartered Accountant must first certify the payment in Form 15CB. This guide is written for the person paying, not the person receiving.

These forms flow from Section 195 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, read with Rule 37BB of the Income Tax Rules. Banks (called authorised dealers) will not process most outward remittances to a non-resident until you hand over the acknowledgement. Get the wrong part, or skip the forms entirely, and Section 271-I exposes you to a penalty of one lakh rupees.

This article covers the remitter's side only. If you are an NRI trying to claim a lower tax rate under a tax treaty, that is a different document. See our sibling guide on Form 10F and the Tax Residency Certificate.

Start here. The right part of Form 15CA depends on two things: whether the payment is chargeable to tax in India, and the total of such taxable remittances during the financial year.

The key reading from the portal: Part A is for a chargeable remittance up to the five-lakh aggregate, not simply any small transfer (Rule 37BB; Section 195). A non-taxable payment goes in Part D no matter how large it is.

Form 15CB is a certificate signed by a Chartered Accountant. It states the nature of the remittance, the taxability, the rate and amount of TDS, and the treaty relied on, if any. You cannot self-prepare it.

You need Form 15CB only when both of these are true:

1. The payment is chargeable to tax in India under the Act, and
2. The remittance, or the aggregate of such remittances in the financial year, exceeds 5 lakh (Rule 37BB).

You do not need Form 15CB when:

1. The remittance is not chargeable to tax (you file Part D instead), or
2. You hold an Assessing Officer order or certificate under Section 195(2), Section 195(3) or Section 197 (you file Part B), or
3. The remittance is in the Rule 37BB specified list, where no form is required at all.

If your NRI payee wants you to deduct TDS at a lower treaty rate, the CA needs a valid Tax Residency Certificate and Form 10F from them before certifying that rate in Form 15CB. The mechanics of claiming that relief are covered in our guide to NRI income tax, DTAA and NRE/NRO accounts.

If a Form 15CB is required, your CA files it first, and you accept it before filing Part C. The Form 15CA steps are:

1. Log in to the income tax e-filing portal at incometax.gov.in with your user ID and password.
2. On the dashboard, go to e-File then Income Tax Forms then File Income Tax Forms.
3. Select Form 15CA. On the instructions page, click Let's Get Started.
4. Choose the applicable part (A, B, C or D) based on the decision table above.
5. For Part C, link the Form 15CB your CA has already filed by quoting its acknowledgement number, and fill the remitter, remittee and remittance details.
6. Click Proceed, verify everything on the Preview page, then Proceed to e-Verify.
7. e-Verify using Aadhaar OTP, net banking or a digital signature certificate.
8. On success, a Transaction ID and acknowledgement are generated. Download it and give a printout to your bank.

Required documents and details

• Remitter PAN and address; remittee name, address and country
• Bank details and the proposed date and amount of remittance
• Nature of the remittance and the relevant purpose code
• For Part C: the Form 15CB acknowledgement number from your CA
• For Part B: the Assessing Officer order or certificate under Section 195(2), Section 195(3) or Section 197
• For treaty rate: the payee's Tax Residency Certificate and Form 10F

Rule 37BB carries a specified list of 33 categories of remittance for which no Form 15CA or 15CB is needed. Notable items include:

• Advance payment and settlement of invoices for imports
• Travel for business, pilgrimage, medical treatment and education
• Indian investment abroad in equity, debt, real estate and subsidiaries
• Loans extended to non-residents and repayment of loans
• Freight and insurance relating to trade
• Payments by residents for international bidding

There is a second route to exemption. Under Rule 37BB, no Form 15CA is required where the remittance is made by an individual and does not require prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. Many small personal transfers under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme fall here, though your bank may still ask for a self-declaration. When in doubt, ask the bank which purpose code applies, because the code decides whether your transfer is on the specified list.

• Skipping the forms entirely. Failure to furnish, or furnishing inaccurate information in, Form 15CA or 15CB attracts a penalty of one lakh rupees under Section 271-I. Relief is possible only if you prove reasonable cause under Section 273B.
• Filing Part A when you needed Part C. If the taxable remittance crosses five lakh, Part A is the wrong form, and the missing Form 15CB is itself a default.
• Treating a non-taxable payment as taxable. Genuinely non-chargeable remittances go in Part D, not Part A; over-declaring can trigger unnecessary TDS.
• Applying a treaty rate without paperwork. A CA cannot certify a lower rate in Form 15CB unless the payee supplies a valid Tax Residency Certificate and Form 10F.
• Filing after the money has left. These are pre-remittance forms; the bank should receive the acknowledgement before releasing funds.
• Confusing remittances under one PAN. The five-lakh trigger is an aggregate across the financial year, so earlier transfers count toward the threshold.

Keep a copy of every acknowledgement. For drafting any related RTI or grievance to a bank or the department, our AI RTI Drafter can help you frame the request, and The RTI Playbook explains how to follow up.

Filing today is under the Income Tax Act, 1961 and Rule 37BB. Under the Income Tax Act, 2025, these forms are renumbered: Form 15CA becomes Form 145 and Form 15CB becomes Form 146, with the specified list moving to Rule 220 of the Income Tax Rules, 2026, effective for remittances made on or after 1 April 2026. The form you use is decided by the date of remittance, so the names above still govern any payment made before that date. For the underlying law, see the RTI Act and statutes reference.

You, the remitter, file Form 15CA. The bank (authorised dealer) only processes the remittance after you give them the acknowledgement; it is your legal declaration, not theirs.

No. Form 15CB is needed only when the payment is chargeable to tax and the aggregate of such remittances exceeds five lakh in the financial year. Non-taxable payments and small taxable ones do not need it.

This is still an outward transfer to a non-resident account, so a form is generally required. If the amount is chargeable to tax and above five lakh you need Form 15CB and Part C; many such transfers are certified after tax on the income has been accounted for. Confirm the treatment with a CA.

Section 271-I provides a penalty of one lakh rupees for failing to furnish, or furnishing inaccurate information in, Form 15CA or 15CB. You may avoid it only by proving reasonable cause under Section 273B.

Payments for imports are on the Rule 37BB specified list, so they are exempt from Form 15CA and 15CB. Your bank uses the purpose code to confirm the transaction qualifies.

Yes, for Part A, Part B and Part D you file 15CA yourself. Only Part C requires a Form 15CB from a Chartered Accountant first, which you then link in Part C.

If they want you to deduct TDS at a lower treaty rate, yes. They must give you a valid Tax Residency Certificate and Form 10F so your CA can certify that rate in Form 15CB.

• Income Tax Department, Form 15CA FAQ and User Manual, incometax.gov.in
• Rule 37BB, Income Tax Rules, 1962 (parts of Form 15CA; specified list of 33 categories)
• Section 195 and Section 195(6), Income Tax Act, 1961
• Section 271-I and Section 273B, Income Tax Act, 1961 (penalty and reasonable cause)
• Income Tax Act, 2025 and Income Tax Rules, 2026, Rule 220 (Form 145 and Form 146, effective 1 April 2026)