When is Form 15CB required for a foreign remittance?
Before sending money abroad, why a remitter files Form 15CA and when a chartered accountant's Form 15CB is needed, the ₹5 lakh taxable-remittance line, and how these become Form 145 and Form 146 from 1 April 2026.
In this guide
Form 15CB, a chartered accountant's certificate, is required when a remittance to a non-resident is chargeable to tax in India and the year's taxable remittances exceed ₹5 lakh. The remitter files Form 15CA before the bank remits in every case. From 1 April 2026, under the Income-tax Act, 2025, Form 15CA becomes Form 145 and Form 15CB becomes Form 146, with the ₹5 lakh test unchanged.
What are Form 15CA and 15CB for?
When money leaves India for a non-resident, the tax department wants to know whether tax was due on it before the bank lets it go. Form 15CA is the remitter's declaration of the payment. Form 15CB is a chartered accountant's certificate that checks whether the payment is chargeable to tax in India and at what rate. Together they run a checkpoint before an outward remittance.
The mechanism sits in the rules made under the provision for payments to non-residents. From 1 April 2026, under the Income-tax Act, 2025, the forms are renamed but the checkpoint stays.
Who files Form 15CA?
The remitter, the person responsible for making the payment, files Form 15CA on the income-tax portal before remitting. Form 15CB is signed by a chartered accountant, not the remitter, and certifies the taxability and rate. The remitter cannot self-certify the taxability that 15CB carries; that is the accountant's job.
What are the parts of Form 15CA?
Form 15CA has four parts, A, B, C and D, and the part you file follows from whether the payment is chargeable to tax in India and whether the year's taxable remittances cross ₹5 lakh. Only Part C requires a Form 15CB certificate.
What does Part A, B, C or D cover?
- Part A: the remittance is chargeable to tax and the year's taxable remittances are ₹5 lakh or less. No Form 15CB.
- Part B: the remittance is chargeable to tax, is over ₹5 lakh, and an Assessing Officer's order or certificate under section 195(2), 195(3) or 197 has been obtained.
- Part C: the remittance is chargeable to tax, is over ₹5 lakh, and no such order was obtained. This is the part that needs a chartered accountant's Form 15CB.
- Part D: the remittance is not chargeable to tax in India. No Form 15CB.
Which part do most business payments use?
Part C carries most taxable business remittances, because few remitters obtain a section 195(2) or 197 order first, and a routine fee or royalty to a non-resident crosses ₹5 lakh quickly on an annual aggregate. Part D is the next most used, for payments a treaty or the charging provisions leave outside Indian tax.
| Situation | What is filed |
|---|---|
| Taxable, over ₹5 lakh in the year | Form 15CB certificate, then the linked part of 15CA. |
| Taxable, up to ₹5 lakh | A lighter part of Form 15CA; no 15CB. |
| Not chargeable to tax | The non-taxable part of Form 15CA; no 15CB. |
What is the ₹5 lakh 15CB limit?
The ₹5 lakh is a taxable-remittance test, not a gross-payment one. Form 15CB is required where the remittance is chargeable to tax in India and the total of such taxable remittances exceeds ₹5 lakh during the year. A large payment that is not chargeable to tax in India does not pull in a 15CB just because of its size.
Is ₹5 lakh counted per payment or per year?
The ₹5 lakh is an annual aggregate of the remitter's taxable remittances, not a per-payment or per-payee figure. Four taxable payments of ₹1.5 lakh each add to ₹6 lakh, so the fourth crosses the line even though no single payment does.
What replaces 15CA from April 2026?
Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, the two forms are renamed. Form 15CA becomes Form 145, the remitter's declaration for a payment to a non-resident. Form 15CB becomes Form 146, the accountant's certificate. This is a renaming, not a new rule: the file-before-remitting workflow and the ₹5 lakh taxable threshold carry over. For a payment on or after 1 April 2026, use Form 145 and, where needed, Form 146.
How do I confirm the 15CA rules?
- Decide first whether the remittance is chargeable to tax in India, since that gates everything else.
- If taxable, total the year's taxable remittances against the ₹5 lakh line to see whether a 15CB / 146 certificate is needed.
- File the correct part of Form 15CA / 145 on the e-Filing portal before the bank remits.
- Give the acknowledged form to the bank or authorised dealer before the outward payment.
- For payments on or after 1 April 2026, use Form 145 and Form 146; watch CBDT for the transition notifications.
Why do Form 15CB certificates get queried?
- Treating the ₹5 lakh as a gross-payment line rather than a taxable-remittance one.
- Skipping Form 15CA on a non-taxable remittance, when the lighter part is still expected.
- Remitting first and filing the form after, when the form must precede the payment.
- Having the remitter self-certify taxability instead of obtaining the accountant's 15CB / 146 where it is required.
- Using the old form names for a remittance on or after 1 April 2026 instead of Form 145 and Form 146.
Where do remittance form changes appear?
The taxability tests, the ₹5 lakh line, and the renaming to Form 145 and Form 146 all trace back to CBDT and the Income-tax rules. Complied AI keeps CBDT / Income Tax updates in one feed so you can open the notification behind a change instead of relying on an older explainer. When you need the underlying provision, open the payments-to-non-residents section next to the update.
Practical checks
Common questions
When is Form 15CB needed?
A chartered accountant's certificate in Form 15CB is required before filing Part C of Form 15CA when the remittance to a non-resident is chargeable to tax in India and the total of such taxable remittances exceeds ₹5 lakh during the year. A remittance not chargeable to tax, or below the line, does not need 15CB.
Who files Form 15CA?
The person responsible for making the remittance to the non-resident files Form 15CA electronically on the income-tax portal before the payment is remitted. The bank or authorised dealer expects the acknowledged form before processing the outward payment.
Do all foreign payments need these forms?
No. Payments not chargeable to tax, and certain remittances listed in the rules (a specified list of transactions), are relaxed from parts of the requirement. Where a remittance is not taxable, the remitter files the relevant lighter part of Form 15CA rather than obtaining Form 15CB.
What replaces 15CA and 15CB from 1 April 2026?
Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, Form 15CA becomes Form 145 (the remitter's declaration) and Form 15CB becomes Form 146 (the accountant's certificate). The ₹5 lakh taxable-remittance test and the file-before-remitting workflow carry over; the change is the form names.
I'm sending $10,000 to a US consultant. Do I need Form 15CB?
Form 15CB is needed only if that consulting fee is chargeable to tax in India and your taxable remittances for the year cross ₹5 lakh. About $10,000 is roughly ₹8.5 lakh, so a taxable fee at that size crosses the line and pulls in Form 15CB plus Part C of Form 15CA. If the India-US treaty leaves the fee untaxed in India, file Part D instead.
Which part of Form 15CA do I file for a non-taxable remittance?
Part D of Form 15CA covers a remittance that is not chargeable to tax in India, and it needs no chartered accountant certificate. Part A covers a taxable remittance where the year's taxable remittances stay at or below ₹5 lakh. Part C is the one that requires Form 15CB. Filing Part D on a taxable payment is the most common misfile.
Can I remit first and file Form 15CA the same evening?
No. Form 15CA has to be furnished before the remittance, and the authorised dealer asks for the acknowledgement number before it releases the outward payment. A bank that has already remitted cannot regularise the sequence for you. Where Form 15CB is needed, the accountant's certificate has to be dated before the Part C filing.
My remittance is on the exempt list. Do I still file anything?
Rule 37BB exempts a specified list of remittances, mostly personal and RBI-purpose-code items, from Form 15CA entirely. Outside that list, a non-taxable business remittance still needs Part D of Form 15CA. Check the purpose code against the rule's list rather than assuming that non-taxable means no filing.
Does the ₹5 lakh limit reset for each vendor?
No. The ₹5 lakh in rule 37BB is an aggregate of taxable remittances by the remitter during the financial year, not a per-payee or per-payment figure. Four taxable payments of ₹1.5 lakh each to different non-residents total ₹6 lakh, so the fourth one crosses the line and needs Form 15CB with Part C.
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How this guide was prepared
This guide is published by the Complied AI research desk. Its source list and stated position were checked against the official records shown below on 27 August 2026.
Automation, including AI, may assist research, drafting and structure. It does not replace the official record or amount to an independent professional review. Read our editorial standards and corrections policy.
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