Foreign remittances (Forms 145 and 146)
Income tax
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On demand
Before paying an overseas vendor, the payer needs to establish what the payment is for, whether Indian tax must be withheld and which remittance information is required. TheTaxCo reviews the agreement and invoice, prepares the tax working, files the applicable declaration, arranges the required accountant’s certificate and handles the bank’s tax-document queries.
Forms 145 and 146 apply to remittances from 01-04-2026 and replace the familiar Forms 15CA and 15CB. A payment made now for an amount accrued before that date may still require the earlier Act to be considered for the underlying income. Income Tax Department remittance transition guidance.
Which documents apply to the payment?
For payments chargeable to Indian tax, the form route depends on the payment or aggregate payments during the tax year. The Rules distinguish the following cases:
Payment position | Information or certificate route |
|---|---|
Chargeable payments up to ₹5,00,000 in aggregate | Part A of Form 15CA |
Chargeable payments above ₹5,00,000 with the specified Assessing Officer certificate or order | Part B of Form 15CA |
Chargeable payments above ₹5,00,000 using an accountant’s certificate | Form 15CB and Part C of Form 15CA |
Non-chargeable payment outside the specified exceptions | Part D of Form 15CA |
Non-chargeable payment covered by rule 220(3) | No Form 15CA information under that exception |
Part B does not also require Part C. The ₹5,00,000 test is not a universal exemption from withholding, and a non-taxable payment does not automatically require a CA certificate. Income-tax Rules, 2026, rule 220.
Taxability comes before the form
An invoice for software can cover access, a licence, implementation and support. A group-company charge can combine several services. We identify the actual rights or services supplied, where the work was performed and the contract terms before selecting a tax category.
The analysis considers Indian law and any relevant treaty, including the recipient’s residence and evidence needed to claim relief. A reimbursement is checked against the underlying cost and contractual arrangement. The fact that a vendor has no Indian office does not settle every income-tax question.
Where the contract requires the vendor to receive a fixed net amount, we examine who bears the withholding cost and whether a gross-up calculation is required. The approved working reconciles the gross liability, tax deducted and amount available for remittance. Foreign-exchange permissions and the bank’s commercial checks are assessed separately from the tax form.
What to provide before the proposed payment
Start with the invoice, agreement or statement of work, payment purpose, recipient’s country and expected payment date. For the detailed review, we request recipient tax information, treaty-support documents where relevant, the currency and amount, and details of earlier payments under the arrangement.
Share the bank’s actual query if it has already raised one. If the contract is incomplete, correspondence explaining the service can help identify the missing evidence. We agree how to resolve that gap before reaching a tax conclusion.
The remittance pack and follow-through
You receive a taxability note, treaty analysis where relevant, withholding calculation and the applicable Form 15CA information. Where the route requires Form 15CB, the professional eligible to sign Form 15CB reviews the evidence and signs the certificate. Our team completes the declaration and authorised filing, provides the signed certificate where required, and follows up with the bank on the remittance documents. The engagement identifies the eligible certifying professional and covered payments.
You approve the commercial facts and authorise the payment. We retain the form references and approved calculation with the invoice so the subsequent withholding statement and accounts use the same figures. A new contract, changed remittance amount or material bank query may require additional work; those limits are settled in the scope.
The timetable runs backwards from the intended payment. Recipient documents and a disputed treaty position can take longer than completing the form itself. Bank processing and regulatory clearance have their own timelines.
Before you instruct the bank
Can one analysis cover recurring subscriptions? The original agreement can support recurring work, but each payment must fit the reviewed service, recipient, amount and applicable form requirements. A renewal with changed rights needs another look.
Can we pay first and complete the forms later? Required remittance information is addressed before the covered payment. Let us know if a payment has already occurred so the remedial position can be assessed from its actual dates.
Does a bank request prove that a CA certificate is legally required? No. We compare the bank’s request with the payment’s taxability and rule 220 route, then explain which documents answer the statutory and bank requirements.
Related services
Email TheTaxCo, message us on WhatsApp or book a call. Share the payment purpose, recipient country, approximate amount and proposed remittance date. The invoice and contract can follow through the agreed document channel.