Cross-Border Remittance Tax Forms: 15CA/15CB, 145/146 and Treaty Withholding

Start with chargeability and the transaction date

A foreign wire, a payment to a non-resident and taxable income in India are three distinct questions. Under the historical section 195 framework, the person responsible for paying a chargeable sum to a non-resident or foreign company generally withholds at the rates in force at credit or payment, whichever is earlier, subject to applicable exceptions. If only part of a payment is chargeable or an order or certificate is needed, use the applicable statutory process. Section 195(6) and Rule 37BB separately govern reporting. The bank’s FEMA and due-diligence requirements are separate again.

Use Forms 15CA and 15CB for transactions governed by the old regime. For covered post-transition remittances from 1 April 2026 use Form 145 and, where required, Form 146 under Rule 220 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026. Keep the credit, payment, withholding and remittance dates; if they straddle commencement, check which law governs the underlying deduction and which form the Department requires for the remittance. An old acknowledgement is not a substitute where the new form applies.

Choose the right filing part

For historical Rule 37BB(3) and current Rule 220(3), verify the exact conditions, including the specified category of individual remittance not requiring RBI approval under the cited current-account framework, qualifying IFSC remitters and the rule’s specified list of payment types. Check the version for the transaction date. For example, the lists include specified import, travel and investment payments. Neither a purpose code selected in isolation nor a bank’s acceptance creates a tax exemption. A taxable payment cannot use a reporting exception reserved for non-chargeable sums.

Determine taxability under the Act and the treaty

• Read the contract, invoice, rights granted, performance and use of services. Under the historical Act, consider section 9(1)(i), (vi) and (vii) as relevant, including source exceptions. Check the applicable rate under the Act and Finance Act; section 115A has a 20% base in specified royalty and technical-service cases, subject to its own conditions and applicable surcharge and cess.
• If domestic law charges the payment and the non-resident is entitled to treaty relief, apply the more beneficial provisions under section 90(2) of the historical Act or the corresponding new provisions. Check the treaty text, protocols, applicable MLI provisions, income character, permanent establishment (PE), beneficial ownership and any anti-abuse requirements.
• Read the actual technical-services article. Some treaties have a make-available condition, but royalty-related services or development and transfer of a plan or design may have separate treatment. Some treaties do not use that test. A service PE can have different thresholds or related-enterprise rules, and a fixed-place or dependent-agent PE needs a separate analysis.
• Use the treaty rate for the actual category where the conditions are met. Do not assume all treaty rates are 10% to 15% or add or omit domestic surcharge and cess without checking the rate and treaty position.

Treaty evidence and portal workflow

Obtain the foreign tax residency certificate for the relevant period. Under the historical provisions, Form 10F supplies the prescribed particulars to the extent they are not already in the certificate; check section 90 and Rule 21AB. Under section 159 and Rule 75 of the 2026 Rules, use the applicable Form 41 process for the corresponding information. Where relevant, seek evidence of beneficial ownership, activities, personnel, places of business and agent authority. A no-PE or beneficial-owner declaration supports the factual inquiry but does not replace it or establish eligibility under an anti-abuse rule.

• Classify the payment and document the withholding basis, rate, tax conversion rule and applicable treaty documents. If the agreement makes the payer bear tax, calculate gross-up using the applicable rate and statute.
• For Part C use the Department’s applicable workflow to assign the accountant and complete the certificate. The accountant completes the required entries, signs as prescribed, and records a valid UDIN where required. Use the current portal instructions and ICAI rules rather than a fixed grace period.
• The remitter completes and verifies the applicable part and retains the acknowledgement. For Part B retain the applicable tax authority order or certificate. For Part C reconcile the linked accountant certificate, amount and withholding. For Part D or an exception retain the no-chargeability analysis.
• Give the authorised dealer the required bank and FEMA documents, such as Form A2 where applicable, and reconcile the transfer reference. Use the applicable tax payment process and challan details for the date; avoid hard-coding tax-account or major-head codes across different payer and payee cases.

Five worked examples

The examples are hypothetical. Unless noted, they use the historical framework for FY 2024–25. Each result depends on the stated treaty and contract facts, and the rates used for translation are illustrative.

1. Browser access to a cloud database hosted in Ireland

An Indian business pays an Irish supplier USD 120,000. At ₹83/USD, the amount is ₹99,60,000. Assume the supplier is entitled to the India–Ireland treaty, gives ordinary browser access only, grants no right to exploit copyright or control equipment or a process, and provides no separately taxable managerial, technical or consultancy service. The Supreme Court’s Engineering Analysis decision dealt with software arrangements that did not transfer copyright rights; it did not decide the treatment of every SaaS or cloud contract. Test the rights and services under Article 12 before turning to Article 7. If the consideration is solely business profits, the supplier has no Indian PE and no other Indian tax rule applies, the illustrative Indian withholding is nil. The fact that ₹99,60,000 exceeds ₹5 lakh does not make the non-chargeable payment Part C. Check Part D or a documented exception.

For comparison only, if this same sum were instead subject to the historical 20% domestic base rate and the foreign company’s applicable payments did not exceed ₹1 crore, no surcharge on that assumed payment base and 4% cess would give 20.80%, or ₹20,71,680. This is not the treaty result for the stated scenario.

2. US engineering review of an Indian facility

An Indian company pays an unrelated US engineering provider USD 250,000 for a three-week engagement, including 12 days of activity in India. At ₹83/USD the fee is ₹2,07,50,000. Assume the provider qualifies for the India–US treaty, including any entity-level eligibility and limitation-on-benefits requirements. Review Article 12(4)(a) for services ancillary to covered royalty rights, and Article 12(4)(b) for services that make technical knowledge or skill available or consist of the development and transfer of a technical plan or design. A diagnostic report can give recommendations without enabling the client to apply the technical capability itself. Read the actual deliverables before deciding.

Also check all PE routes under Article 5. For the ordinary unrelated-enterprise service limb, consider aggregate activities over the relevant 12-month period and the more-than-90-days test; services for related enterprises have a separate limb. Twelve days on this project alone do not rule out a PE. If neither Article 12 nor a PE or another applicable treaty article permits India to tax the income on the complete facts, withholding is nil and the reporting choice is Part D or an exception, not Part C solely because the payment exceeds ₹5 lakh.

3. Dividend to a Dutch parent

Assume an Indian company pays a ₹10 crore dividend to its wholly owning Dutch corporate parent during FY 2024–25, and the aggregate payments relevant to the domestic withholding calculation are exactly ₹10 crore. The historical 20% domestic base, 2% surcharge on the base tax and 4% cess on tax plus surcharge give 21.216%. If the Dutch parent is entitled to the 10% treaty cap under Article 10 as implemented in India by Notification 11050, including beneficial ownership and any applicable anti-abuse conditions, use the treaty cap on the stated facts. The 10% rate in this example does not depend on a separate holding of more than 10% or on applying a further, unnotified reduction from another treaty.

Use historical Part C with Form 15CB if the accountant-certificate route applies and no Part B order or certificate is used.

4. Grossing up a German engineering fee

An Indian payer promises a German engineering provider a net EUR 100,000, or ₹90,00,000 at an assumed ₹90/EUR, and agrees to bear Indian tax. Assume the provider qualifies for the India–Germany treaty and the service is covered by Article 12 at 10% on the gross amount, with no applicable PE exception. Under the historical section 195A calculation, divide the net amount by 0.90 to get gross income of ₹1,00,00,000. Withholding is ₹10,00,000 and the net payment is ₹90,00,000. Record the gross base, tax and net payment in the applicable filing. Do not assume a general exemption for tax paid on the vendor’s behalf; any historical exemption requires its own statutory facts and period.

5. Non-resident seller and a lower withholding certificate

Assume a UK-resident individual sells a Delhi plot before 23 July 2024 for ₹3,50,00,000 and, solely for illustration, has ₹60 lakh of taxable long-term gain under the rules applicable to that transfer. At the historical 20% base rate the tax on that assumed gain is ₹12 lakh before surcharge and cess. The final tax depends on the actual computation and the applicable Act and treaty; the 20% rate is not a general withholding mandate on the whole ₹3.50 crore consideration. For transfers on or after 23 July 2024, revisit the changed rate and cost rules instead of copying this example.

Assume the seller obtained a valid section 197 certificate via Form 13 authorising withholding of 4.05% on the stated gross amount for this buyer and payment. The buyer would withhold ₹14,17,500 and pay ₹3,35,82,500 before other adjustments. If that payment to the non-resident is within historical Rule 37BB, and the certificate covers it, the applicable Part B does not require a Part C certificate for the same payment. The seller’s later remittance from an NRO account is a separate FEMA and tax-form inquiry. Neither the certificate nor the arithmetic settles final tax liability.

Filing and withholding checks

• Retain the invoice, agreement, statement of work, remittance purpose and timing, and evidence of rights or services supplied.
• Identify the applicable tax year, statutory basis, treaty text and all supporting residence, ownership and PE facts. Reconcile any gross-up, tax translation and deduction.
• Record the reason for Part A, B, C, D or no form. Keep the applicable accountant certificate or tax authority order where used, plus any bank forms and transfer acknowledgement.
• Review consequences separately. Historical section 271-I permits the Assessing Officer to impose a ₹1 lakh penalty for a failure to furnish required section 195(6) information or for inaccurate information. The corresponding new-law information penalty is in section 462, for failures under section 397(3)(d). Neither penalty is automatic. Historical section 40(a)(i) can disallow an otherwise deductible chargeable foreign payment for a withholding or deposit failure, subject to the statutory timing and relief. Section 201 consequences depend on a withholding default; a missing form alone does not establish unpaid tax.

Frequently asked questions

1. Are Forms 15CA/15CB or 145/146 always required for importing goods?

No. Separate the offshore sale of goods from installation, software rights, services or other amounts in the same contract. If the relevant payment is not chargeable, check the specific rule and its listed import categories. If an exception applies, neither Part D nor an accountant certificate follows solely because the bank requests an invoice.

2. Can treaty rates be used without a tax residency certificate?

A qualifying certificate is generally required under the statutory treaty-relief provisions. If unavailable, determine the domestic chargeability and rate and resolve the evidence issue. Lack of a certificate does not itself turn a payment into royalty or technical fees.

3. Is the penalty for a missing remittance form automatic?

No. The historical information penalty and the withholding rules have different triggers. Check whether information was required, whether a withholding default occurred and what relief or correction is available under the law for that year.

4. Can several invoices be paid together?

Distinguish invoices from payment events. Aggregate chargeable payments for the applicable threshold, and ensure the reporting and supporting certificate, where required, match the actual payee, sum, character, tax and transfer. Do not assume a single certificate covers a series of later remittances.

5. What if the foreign payee does not have an Indian PAN?

Check whether it is required to obtain a PAN. Use the Department’s applicable non-PAN registration and verification process where eligible, and the Form 10F or Form 41 workflow for the applicable regime.

6. Can the authorised dealer ask for more than the accountant certificate?

Yes. It can ask for evidence of the nature and purpose of the transfer and to meet its applicable FEMA, banking and due-diligence obligations. An accountant certificate is not a binding tax ruling or a substitute for a statutory order.

Sources

• Income-tax Act, 1961: source, treaty, withholding, gross-up and consequence provisions
• CBDT Notification 93/2015: Rule 37BB and historical forms
• Income-tax Act, 2025: corresponding withholding provisions
• CBDT Notification 22/2026: Rule 220 and prescribed forms
• Income Tax Department: Form 145 user manual
• Income Tax Department: Form 146 user manual
• Income Tax Department: Form 41 user manual
• Supreme Court: Engineering Analysis Centre of Excellence, 2 March 2021
• Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024: historical rates, surcharge and capital gains changes
• India–Ireland tax treaty: Articles 5, 7 and 12
• India–US tax treaty: Articles 5, 7 and 12 and related provisions
• India–Netherlands convention and MLI synthesised text
• Indian Notification 11050 of 30 August 1999: revised Netherlands treaty rate
• Supreme Court: Nestlé SA and the notification requirement for MFN treatment
• India–UK tax treaty: capital gains article
• Income Tax Department: India–Germany treaty, Article 12
• India–Germany treaty text, reproduced PDF, Article 12
• Income Tax Department: new form transition guidance