Who is required to file Form 15CA?
As per Rule 37BB, any person responsible for paying to a non-resident (not being a company) or to a foreign company, any sum chargeable to tax under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, shall furnish such information in Form 15CA and Form 15CB. However, for all foreign remittances, banks have a mandate to provide for such information. Therefore, it is prudent to have such documentation in place for all foreign remittances.
Form 15CA prescribes the information to be furnished by the payer and Form 15CB prescribes the format of certificate to be obtained by the Chartered Accountant by the payer. Therefore, a person paying a Non-Resident or a foreign company has to submit Form 15CA. Form 15CB is a certificate by the Chartered Accountant to the remitter of foreign exchange, specifying whether the transaction of foreign remittance attracts deduction of TDS and whether the remitter has deducted the TDS accordingly.
Classification of information in Form 15CA
The furnishing of information in Form 15CA is classified into 4 parts, namely:
- Part A: In case the payment or the aggregate of such payments made during the financial year does not exceed Rs. 5 lakh, such information is to be furnished in Part A of Form No. 15CA.
- Part B: In case the payment exceeds Rs. 5 lakh, such information is required to be furnished in Part B of Form No. 15CA after obtaining a certificate from the Assessing Officer under Section 197, or an order from the Assessing Officer under sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) of Section 195.
- Part C: In case the payment exceeds Rs. 5 lakh, such information is required to be furnished in Part C of Form 15CA after obtaining a certificate in Form No. 15CB from an accountant as defined in the Explanation to sub-section (2) of Section 288.
- Part D: In case the payment (other than the payment referred to in sub-rule (3) of Rule 37BB) is not chargeable to tax under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, such information is required to be furnished in Part D of Form No. 15CA.
When Form 15CA is not required to be furnished
In accordance with sub-rule (3) of Rule 37BB, Form 15CA and Form 15CB are not required to be furnished in case of the following transactions:
- Remittance is made by an individual and it does not require prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India as per the provisions of Section 5 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999), read with Schedule III to the Foreign Exchange (Current Account Transaction) Rules, 2000; or
- Remittance is of the nature specified in the table below.
Nature of payments exempt from 15CA / 15CB
| Sl. No. | Purpose code as per RBI | Nature of Payment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | S0001 | Indian investment abroad — in equity capital (shares) |
| 2 | S0002 | Indian investment abroad — in debt securities |
| 3 | S0003 | Indian investment abroad — in branches and wholly owned subsidiaries |
| 4 | S0004 | Indian investment abroad — in subsidiaries and associates |
| 5 | S0005 | Indian investment abroad — in real estate |
| 6 | S0011 | Loans extended to Non-Residents |
| 7 | S0101 | Advance payment against imports |
| 8 | S0102 | Payment towards imports — settlement of invoice |
| 9 | S0103 | Imports by diplomatic missions |
| 10 | S0104 | Intermediary trade |
| 11 | S0190 | Imports below Rs. 5,00,000 — (For use by ECD offices) |
| 12 | S0202 | Payment for operating expenses of Indian shipping companies operating abroad |
| 13 | S0208 | Operating expenses of Indian Airlines companies operating abroad |
| 14 | S0212 | Booking of passages abroad — Airlines companies |
| 15 | S0301 | Remittance towards business travel |
| 16 | S0302 | Travel under basic travel quota (BTQ) |
| 17 | S0303 | Travel for pilgrimage |
| 18 | S0304 | Travel for medical treatment |
| 19 | S0305 | Travel for education (including fees, hostel expenses, etc.) |
| 20 | S0401 | Postal services |
| 21 | S0501 | Construction of projects abroad by Indian companies including import of goods at project site |
| 22 | S0602 | Freight insurance — relating to import and export of goods |
| 23 | S1011 | Payments for maintenance of offices abroad |
| 24 | S1201 | Maintenance of Indian embassies abroad |
| 25 | S1202 | Remittances by foreign embassies in India |
| 26 | S1301 | Remittance by non-residents towards family maintenance and savings |
| 27 | S1302 | Remittance towards personal gifts and donations |
| 28 | S1303 | Remittance towards donations to religious and charitable institutions abroad |
| 29 | S1304 | Remittance towards grants and donations to other Governments and charitable institutions established by the Governments |
| 30 | S1305 | Contributions or donations by the Government to international institutions |
| 31 | S1306 | Remittance towards payment or refund of taxes |
| 32 | S1501 | Refunds or rebates or reduction in invoice value on account of exports |
| 33 | S1503 | Payments by residents for international bidding |
Our team assists in the issue of Form 15CA and issues Form 15CB certificates to our clients. We also provide advisory on taxability and assist in the repatriation of funds.
Talk to a partner.
A 30-minute call with a partner — no deck, no follow-up email blasts. Just a read on whether we’re the right team to issue your Form 15CA / 15CB and handle the remittance.