Form 15CA / 15CB, the CA certificate that unlocks the wire.

Section 195 Income Tax Act: any person making payment to a non-resident that is chargeable to tax in India must deduct TDS. Rule 37BB (introduced 2013, revised repeatedly) operationalises this via Form 15CA (payer declaration) and Form 15CB (CA certificate on taxability and rate).

The AD bank processing the SWIFT asks for 15CA acknowledgement AND (where applicable) 15CB before releasing foreign exchange. No 15CA/15CB → no wire.

The four Parts of Form 15CA:

• Part A: for remittances up to INR 5 lakh in a FY, aggregate per payee. No 15CB needed; only self-declaration.
• Part B: for remittances above INR 5 lakh where an order under Section 195(2)/(3) or 197 has been obtained (NIL / lower deduction certificate).
• Part C: for remittances above INR 5 lakh where Form 15CB (CA certificate) is attached. This is the standard case.
• Part D: for remittances not chargeable to tax under the Act (list of 33 specified categories).

Form 15CB (CA certificate) is required when:

• Remittance is > INR 5 lakh aggregate per payee per FY, AND
• The remittance is chargeable to tax in India, AND
• No Section 195(2)/(3) / 197 order has been obtained.

Standard scenarios needing 15CB:

• Dividend from Indian subsidiary to foreign parent — Section 195 TDS 20% (10% under treaty with TRC).
• Royalty / FTS (Fees for Technical Services) to foreign licensor — Section 115A 20% (10% under treaty).
• Interest on ECB / NCD to foreign lender — Section 195 20% (treaty rate may apply).
• Capital gains on Indian securities to foreign investor — Section 112A / 115AD rates.
• Branch office remittance to head office.
• Service fee to foreign vendor — nature-dependent (FTS vs business income under treaty).
• Salary to foreign consultant / independent contractor — Section 192 vs Section 194R / 195 depending on employment vs independent.
• Reimbursement of expenses — chargeability depends on facts.

Form 15CB is a CA certificate stating:

• Nature of remittance (dividend / royalty / FTS / interest / capital gain / business income / salary / reimbursement, etc.).
• Chargeability under the Act (Section 9, Section 115A, Section 195, specific sections).
• Applicable DTAA, if any, and treaty rate.
• TDS deducted at applicable rate.
• Reasons supporting the taxability / non-taxability conclusion.

Key documents needed:

• Invoice / agreement supporting the remittance.
• Payee's Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) — mandatory for claiming DTAA benefit.
• Payee's Form 10F — electronic Form 10F now mandatory via e-filing portal (post Oct 2023). Even if TRC provides most info, Form 10F additional.
• Payee's PAN (if available) — without PAN, Section 206AA kicks in: rate = higher of (a) treaty rate, (b) 20%.
• No-PE declaration from payee (if claiming business income exemption under treaty).

• Payer withholding at 20% ignoring treaty: when TRC + Form 10F are available, treaty rate (usually 10-15%) applies. Over-withholding delays payee's refund / clog in Indian tax system.
• Payer claiming 'reimbursement' without substance: reimbursement must be bare cost, no mark-up, documented back-to-back. Else chargeable as business income / FTS.
• Missing Form 10F: post Oct 2023, electronic Form 10F mandatory. Even non-residents without Indian PAN must obtain India e-filing PAN temporarily to file Form 10F. CBDT clarifications ongoing.
• Service classification errors: payer calls it 'consultancy' (FTS 10% treaty), CA re-classifies as 'business income' (nil if no PE). Taxability can shift by INR 10 lakh+ on INR 1 crore remittance.
• PE / fixed-place analysis skipped: foreign vendor rendering services remotely but has frequent India presence (frequent travel, demo deployment, long on-site engagement) → service PE / fixed-place PE → business income taxable.

Last updated: 2026-10-13.