Form 15CA and 15CB (Form 145/146): When You Need Them

Form 15CA and Form 15CB are now Form 145 and Form 146 under Rule 220 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 (earlier Rule 37BB). Form 145 is the remitter's online declaration before paying a non-resident, and Form 146 is the chartered accountant's certificate on taxability and TDS, needed when the payment is chargeable to tax, exceeds ₹5 lakh in the tax year and you hold no Assessing Officer's certificate.

This guide explains which part of Form 145 applies, when no form is needed, how the DTAA and tax residency certificate fit in, how the two forms are filed on the e-filing portal, the penalties, and two worked examples: an NRI repatriating property sale proceeds and a company paying a foreign vendor.

Old and new names under the Income-tax Act, 2025

The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from 1 April 2026. Remittances made on or after that date use the new forms on the e-filing portal. The purpose of each form has not changed.

Who has to file Form 145

Under Rule 220, the person making a payment to a non-resident (other than a company) or to a foreign company files Form 145 before the remittance. That person may be a company, a firm, an individual or an NRI repatriating money from an NRO account. The form is event-based: there is no annual due date, but it must be on the portal before the bank sends the money.

The authorised dealer (AD) bank asks for the Form 145 acknowledgement, and Form 146 where Part C applies, before releasing the remittance.

Which part of Form 145 applies

Start with two questions. Is the payment chargeable to tax in India? Does the total remitted to this payee exceed ₹5 lakh in the tax year?

When no Form 145 is needed

Rule 220 lists three situations where Form 145 is not required:

• A remittance by an individual that does not need prior RBI approval under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, such as gifts to relatives abroad or overseas education fees within LRS limits
• A remittance made by a unit in an International Financial Services Centre
• A remittance of a nature covered by the specified list of RBI purpose codes

Even when no form is needed, the AD bank may still ask for supporting papers, and tax collected at source can apply to some LRS remittances. Part D is different: it is a filing, used when the payment is outside the exempt list but is not chargeable to tax in India. Keep a written basis for any Part D claim.

DTAA, tax residency certificate and Form 41

Many payments to non-residents are taxable under the Income-tax Act, 2025 but at a lower rate, or not at all, under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with the payee's country. To apply the treaty rate, the payee should provide:

• A tax residency certificate (TRC) from its home tax authority for the relevant period
• Form 41 with the prescribed particulars
• Its PAN or, if it has none, its tax identification number in its home country
• A declaration that it has no permanent establishment in India, where business income is involved

Without a TRC and Form 41, the CA will usually certify deduction at the domestic rate. If the TDS itself looks too high, the payee can apply for a lower or nil deduction certificate; see our guide to Form 128 and the lower deduction certificate for NRIs.

Step-by-step filing on the e-filing portal (Part C)

• Step 1 — Collect the papers. Invoice or agreement, payee details, purpose code, TRC and Form 41, and the TDS working.
• Step 2 — Assign the CA. The remitter logs in to the e-filing portal, goes to My Account, chooses Add CA, enters the CA's membership number and selects Form No. 146 (and Form 145 Part C).
• Step 3 — Deduct and deposit TDS. Where tax is due, the amount is worked out, grossed up if you bear the payee's tax, and deposited using your TAN.
• Step 4 — CA files Form 146. The CA reviews the agreement, nature of payment, DTAA article and TDS, then files Form 146 online or through the offline utility with UDIN and e-verifies it with the CA's registered DSC.
• Step 5 — Remitter files Form 145 Part C. Form 146 appears in the remitter's worklist; its acknowledgement number pre-fills Part C. The remitter e-verifies Form 145, with DSC where required for TAN users, or EVC.
• Step 6 — Give both acknowledgements to the bank. Form 146 is marked consumed once Part C is filed against it. The bank releases the remittance.
• Step 7 — Report the TDS. Include the deduction in the quarterly TDS return for payments to non-residents.

For Part A, B or D, there is no CA certificate: the remitter fills in the relevant part directly and e-verifies it.

Our Form 15CA / 15CB filing service handles the taxability review, Form 146 with UDIN and Form 145 from ₹2,199 per remittance, usually within one to two working days once documents are ready.

Documents checklist

• Invoice, agreement or purchase order for the payment
• Remitter's PAN and TAN (TAN not needed for Part D)
• Payee's name, address, country and PAN or tax identification number
• Payee's TRC and Form 41, to claim the DTAA rate
• No-permanent-establishment declaration, where relevant
• Bank details and the purpose code given to the AD bank
• Assessing Officer's certificate under Section 395, if obtained
• TDS challan, where tax has been deducted
• For an NRI's own funds: sale deed, capital-gains computation and TDS certificate

Worked example 1: an NRI selling a flat in Kolkata

An NRI living in Dubai sells a flat in Kolkata held for several years. The sale proceeds are credited to the NRI's NRO account, and the NRI wants to move ₹40 lakh to an NRE or overseas account.

• Tax at the time of sale: the buyer deducts TDS on the payment to the non-resident seller under Section 393 (old 195), at the rate on the long-term capital gain plus surcharge and cess, unless the seller has a lower deduction certificate under Section 395.
• Underlying income: the CA computes the capital gain from the sale deed and purchase cost and checks that the tax on it has been deducted or paid.
• Which part: the repatriation exceeds ₹5 lakh and there is no AO certificate for it, so Form 146 and Form 145 Part C are used.
• Form 146: records the nature of the remittance (sale proceeds of immovable property), the tax already deducted and the basis on which no further tax is due on the amount being remitted.
• Bank: the AD bank receives both acknowledgements with the sale deed and TDS certificate and processes the transfer within the FEMA limits for repatriation from NRO balances.
• Return: the NRI still reports the gain in the income-tax return for the year; any excess TDS comes back as a refund. See NRI ITR filing.

Worked example 2: a company paying a foreign vendor

A Kolkata private company pays a UK-resident consultant for market-research services: ₹4,00,000 in June and ₹3,00,000 in November of the same tax year. Assume the CA concludes the payment is chargeable to tax in India.

• June payment: the year's total is ₹4 lakh, within ₹5 lakh, so Form 145 Part A is filed after TDS is deducted at the applicable rate. No Form 146 is needed.
• November payment: the year's total becomes ₹7 lakh, above ₹5 lakh, so this remittance needs Form 146 from a CA and Form 145 Part C.
• DTAA: with a UK TRC and Form 41, the CA checks the India–UK DTAA for whether the services are fees for technical services or business income without a permanent establishment, and certifies the rate and TDS.
• If the company bears the tax: the TDS is grossed up, so the consultant receives the full invoice amount.
• After the remittance: both payments go into the quarterly TDS return for non-resident payments.

Penalties and consequences

Withdrawing or correcting a form

Form 145 cannot be edited after submission, but it can be withdrawn within 7 days of submission and filed again. A CA can withdraw Form 146 within 7 days, but once it has been consumed by a Form 145 Part C, the remitter must first withdraw the Form 145; the linked Form 146 then shows as withdrawn. One Form 146 can be used for only one Form 145, so each remittance needs its own certificate.

Common mistakes

• Filing Part A for one invoice when the payee has already crossed ₹5 lakh in the tax year
• Claiming a DTAA rate without a valid TRC and Form 41
• Filing Part D for every foreign payment without a reasoned basis
• Wrong grossing up when the remitter bears the payee's tax
• Using one Form 146 for several remittances
• Remitting before filing Form 145
• A purpose code on the bank's form that does not match Form 145
• Leaving the TDS out of the quarterly non-resident TDS return

For TDS rates by type of income, see our NRI TDS rates guide. The foreign-exchange side of a payment is covered under FEMA compliance.

Frequently asked questions