Form 15CA & Form 15CB for Payments to NRIs

A person making a remittance (a payment) to a Non Resident or a Foreign Company has to submit Form 15CA. This form is submitted online. In some cases, a certificate from a Chartered Accountant in Form 15CB is required before uploading Form 15CA online. In Form 15CB, a CA certifies details of the payment, TDS rate and TDS deduction as per section 195 of the Income Tax Act, if any DTAA (Double Tax Avoidance Agreement) is applicable, and other details of nature & purpose of the remittance.

Banks require these certificates before they make any remittance on your behalf to a non-resident.

Here are the details regarding these forms –

• In some cases Form 15CA and certificate from CA in Form 15CB are not required. This is when remittance is towards the list of 28 items mentioned in Rule 37BB. Scroll down to the bottom to see this list.
• Certificate in Form 15CB is not required when remittance does not exceed Rs 50,000 (single transaction) and Rs 2,50,000 (in total in a financial year). Only Form 15CA is has to be submitted in this case.
• Certificate in Form 15CB is not required if lower TDS has to be deducted and a certificate is received under section 197 for it or lower TDS has to be deducted by order of the AO. Only Form 15CA is to be uploaded in such a case.
• In all other cases, if there is a remittance outside India, the person who is making the remittance will take a CA’s certificate in Form 15CB and after receiving the certificate submit Form 15CA to the government online.

List of 28 items where Form 15CA and Form 15CB are not required as per Rule 37BB of the Income Tax Act, Rules.

Serial No.	Nature of Payment
1	Indian investment abroad -in equity capital (shares)
2	Indian investment abroad -in debt securities
3	Indian investment abroad -in branches and wholly owned subsidiaries
4	Indian investment abroad -in subsidiaries and associates
5	Indian investment abroad -in real estate
6	Loans extended to Non-Residents
7	Payment- for operating expenses of Indian shipping companies operating abroad
8	Operating expenses of Indian Airlines companies operating abroad
9	Booking of passages abroad -Airlines companies
10	Remittance towards business travel
11	Travel under basic travel quota (BTQ)
12	Travel for pilgrimage
13	Travel for medical treatment
14	Travel for education (including fees, hostel expenses etc)
15	Postal services
16	Construction of projects abroad by Indian companies including import of goods at project site
17	Freight insurance – relating to import and export of goods
18	Payments for maintenance of offices abroad
19	Maintenance of Indian embassies abroad
20	Remittances by foreign embassies in India
21	Remittance by non-residents towards family maintenance and-savings
22	Remittance towards personal gifts and donations
23	Remittance towards donations to religious and charitable institutions abroad
24	Remittance towards grants and donations to other Governments and charitable institutions established by the Governments
25	Contributions or donations by the Government to international institutions
26	Remittance towards payment or refund of taxes
27	Refunds or rebates or reduction in invoice value on account of exports
28	Payments by residents for international bidding