By Manu Rao | Updated March 2026
What Are Form 15CA and 15CB?
Form 15CA and Form 15CB are mandatory compliance documents required before any person makes a foreign remittance from India. They serve as a checkpoint to ensure that the correct withholding tax has been deducted and deposited before money leaves the country.
Form 15CA is an online declaration filed by the person making the payment (the remitter) on the Income Tax e-filing portal. Form 15CB is a certificate issued by a Chartered Accountant confirming the nature of the payment, the applicable tax rate (domestic or DTAA), and the tax deducted.
Banks in India will not process foreign remittances without these forms. The authorized dealer (bank) collects the Form 15CA acknowledgment before executing the wire transfer.
Legal Framework
- Section 195(6) of the Income Tax Act 1961 — Empowers the CBDT to prescribe information to be furnished for payments to non-residents
- Rule 37BB of the Income Tax Rules — Prescribes Form 15CA and 15CB, along with the list of payments exempted from this requirement
- CBDT Notification No. 93/2020 — Revised Form 15CA format and expanded the list of exempted payments
When Are Form 15CA/15CB Required?
The requirement depends on the nature and amount of the payment:
| Scenario | Form 15CA Part | Form 15CB Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Payment to non-resident that is NOT chargeable to tax under the Act (and covered in the exempted list under Rule 37BB) | Not required | Not required |
| Payment chargeable to tax, amount does not exceed INR 5 lakhs in the FY | Part A | No |
| Payment chargeable to tax, amount exceeds INR 5 lakhs, lower/nil withholding certificate under Section 195(2)/195(3)/197 obtained | Part B | No |
| Payment chargeable to tax, amount exceeds INR 5 lakhs, no lower withholding certificate | Part C | Yes |
| Payment not chargeable to tax (but not in the exempted list) | Part D | No |
Part C — which requires both Form 15CA and Form 15CB — is the most common scenario for foreign-owned companies making payments to their parent entities.
Payments Exempted from Form 15CA/15CB (Rule 37BB)
The following payments do not require Form 15CA or 15CB:
- Imports of goods (payment for physical goods — covered by customs declarations)
- Remittances by Indian embassies and diplomatic missions
- Payments under OIFC (Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre) schemes
- Certain personal remittances under the LRS (Liberalized Remittance Scheme) where specific purpose codes apply — such as travel, medical treatment, education (up to the RBI limit of USD 250,000/year)
Payments for services, royalties, interest, dividends, management fees, and other business payments are NOT exempted — they require Form 15CA/15CB.
Form 15CB — The CA Certificate
Form 15CB is signed by a Chartered Accountant and contains:
- Name and address of the remitter (the Indian company)
- Name, address, and country of the remittee (the foreign recipient)
- Nature of the remittance (royalty, FTS, interest, dividend, etc.)
- Amount of remittance in foreign currency and INR equivalent
- Whether a DTAA applies and the specific article and rate
- Whether a Tax Residency Certificate and Form 10F have been obtained
- Rate of TDS applied (domestic or DTAA)
- Amount of TDS deducted and deposited
- Challan details (BSR code, date, serial number)
- Whether a lower withholding certificate under Section 195(2)/197 exists
The CA must examine the underlying agreement, the nature of the service, and the applicable treaty before signing. This is not a rubber-stamp exercise — the CA takes professional responsibility for the certification.
Form 15CA — Online Declaration
Form 15CA is filed electronically on the Income Tax e-filing portal (incometax.gov.in). The process:
- Log in to the portal using the company's PAN and password
- Navigate to e-File > Income Tax Forms > File Form 15CA
- Select the part (A, B, C, or D) based on the payment characteristics
- Enter details — remittee information, amount, purpose code (as per RBI), tax details
- Upload Form 15CB (for Part C) — the CA uploads Form 15CB on the portal first, and the system generates a reference number
- Enter the 15CB reference number in the 15CA form
- Submit and verify using DSC or EVC
- Download acknowledgment — this acknowledgment number is provided to the bank
How This Applies to Foreign-Owned Companies
If you run a foreign-owned company in India, you will file Form 15CA/15CB every time you make a payment to:
- Your foreign parent company (management fees, royalties, service charges)
- Foreign vendors (software licenses, consulting, marketing)
- Foreign lenders (interest on ECBs or inter-company loans)
- Foreign shareholders (dividends)
- Foreign employees (salary for work done in India by non-resident employees)
A typical subsidiary making quarterly payments to its parent will file Form 15CA/15CB four times a year for that single payment stream. Add other foreign vendors, and the frequency increases.
Deadlines
There is no separate deadline — Form 15CA/15CB must be filed before the remittance is made. The bank will not process the payment without the Form 15CA acknowledgment. In practice:
- Form 15CB should be prepared and uploaded by the CA 2-3 days before the planned remittance
- Form 15CA should be filed on the same day or one day before the remittance
- The bank typically asks for the acknowledgment along with the payment instruction
Penalties
- Failure to furnish Form 15CA — Penalty of INR 1,00,000 under Section 271-I
- Furnishing incorrect information in Form 15CA — Same penalty: INR 1,00,000 per form
- Bank processing remittance without Form 15CA — The bank (authorized dealer) faces action from RBI for non-compliance
The INR 1 lakh penalty applies per form, not per transaction. A company that makes 12 foreign remittances in a year without filing Form 15CA could face INR 12 lakhs in penalties.
Common Mistakes
- Filing Form 15CA after the remittance — The form must be filed before the payment. Filing it retroactively (to satisfy a bank audit or tax audit) does not cure the deficiency. The penalty still applies.
- Using incorrect purpose codes — The RBI purpose code in Form 15CA must match the nature of the payment. Using the wrong code (e.g., coding management fees as "other business services" instead of the specific code) creates reconciliation issues between RBI and Income Tax databases.
- Not updating the TDS challan details in Form 15CB — If TDS was deposited after the CA prepared Form 15CB, the challan details are missing. The form must be regenerated with the correct challan BSR code, date, and serial number.
- Filing Part D when Part C is required — Part D is for payments not chargeable to tax. If a company incorrectly determines that a payment is not taxable and files Part D, but the payment is actually taxable, the company is treated as having failed to deduct TDS — triggering Section 201 consequences.
- Not obtaining TRC before filing 15CB — The CA certifying 15CB must confirm whether a TRC exists. If the CA certifies a DTAA rate without verifying the TRC, and the TRC is later found to be invalid or expired, the CA faces professional liability.
Practical Example
An Indian subsidiary in Mumbai pays its US parent company USD 50,000 quarterly for IT support services (Fees for Technical Services under the India-US DTAA). The applicable treaty rate is 15%. The Indian company deducts TDS of USD 7,500 (15%) on each quarterly payment and deposits the INR equivalent with the government by the 7th of the following month. Before making each quarterly remittance of USD 42,500 (net of TDS), the process unfolds: (1) The company's CA examines the services agreement, confirms it qualifies as FTS under Article 12 of the India-US DTAA, verifies the US parent's TRC (IRS Form 6166 for 2026) and Form 10F, and uploads Form 15CB on the e-filing portal. (2) The company's accountant files Form 15CA Part C on the portal, enters the 15CB reference number, and submits. (3) The acknowledgment is sent to the bank along with the wire transfer instruction. (4) The bank processes the USD 42,500 remittance to the US parent's account.
Related Terms
- Withholding Tax — The tax that 15CA/15CB tracks
- Tax Residency Certificate — Referenced in Form 15CB
- TDS — Must be deposited before 15CA is filed
- TAN — Required on Form 15CA
Making foreign payments from your Indian company? Beacon Filing handles Form 15CA/15CB filing — from CA certification to bank coordination.