"You always need a CA for Form 15CA": What ITA 2025 actually says

"You always need a CA for Form 15CA": What ITA 2025 actually says

Walk into almost any conversation about sending money out of India and someone will tell you that every foreign remittance needs a chartered accountant's certificate before the bank will release a single rupee. NRIs repatriating their own NRO balances hear it constantly: "You can't transfer that abroad until your CA signs Form 15CB." It is one of the most expensive myths in cross-border tax, because it makes people pay for certificates they never needed — and, just as often, makes them skip a filing they did need. The truth sits in the fine print of the rules, and from 1 April 2026 those rules carry new form numbers under the Income Tax Act, 2025.

What the law actually says

The obligation to report foreign remittances comes from Section 195 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the same provision continues under ITA 2025), read with Rule 37BB. Rule 37BB is the operative rule: it tells you who must file, which form, and when.

The reporting form is Form 15CA — now renamed Form 145 under ITA 2025 for any remittance initiated on or after 1 April 2026. The accountant's certificate is Form 15CB, renamed Form 146 under ITA 2025. Nothing about the substance changed in the transition; the Central Board of Direct Taxes simply re-numbered the forms to fit the new Act. Form 15CA (now Form 145) and Form 15CB (now Form 146) remain valid receipts of compliance for any remittance you initiated before 1 April 2026, so you do not need to refile historical transactions.

Here is the part the myth gets wrong. Form 15CA is not a single form, and Form 15CB is not always required. Rule 37BB splits Form 15CA into four parts, and the accountant's certificate is triggered by only one of them:

• Part A — the remittance, or the total of remittances in the tax year, does not exceed ₹5 lakh. You file Part A yourself. No CA, no Form 15CB.
• Part B — the remittance exceeds ₹5 lakh in the tax year and you have already obtained a certificate or order from the Assessing Officer under Section 195(2), 195(3) or 197. No Form 15CB here either.
• Part C — the remittance exceeds ₹5 lakh in the tax year and the payment is chargeable to tax. This is the only part that needs Form 15CB (now Form 146) — the accountant's certificate.
• Part D — the remittance is not chargeable to tax at all under the Act. You file Part D yourself. No Form 15CB.

So the CA certificate is mandatory in exactly one situation: a taxable remittance above ₹5 lakh in the year. Below that threshold, or where the payment isn't taxable, you are filing a self-declaration — not buying a certificate.

There is a second escape hatch most people never hear about. Rule 37BB lists 33 categories of payment that need no Form 15CA or 15CB at all, regardless of amount. These are the "specified list" remittances — broadly, transactions an individual makes that do not require prior RBI approval under FEMA, including personal travel, education abroad, maintenance of close relatives, medical treatment, and imports of goods. If your remittance falls in the specified list, you file nothing under Rule 37BB.

ITA 2025 also shifts the vocabulary you will see on the portal: the "Previous Year" and "Assessment Year" labels are gone, replaced by a single "Tax Year." The ₹5 lakh aggregation is now measured across the Tax Year, not the old previous-year framing.

Practical implications for NRIs

Where this bites hardest is NRO repatriation. Say you are an NRI in Dubai moving ₹40 lakh of accumulated NRO balance — rent and interest you already paid tax on — to your overseas account. Your bank asks for "15CA-CB." Many NRIs assume that means a paid CA certificate on the full ₹40 lakh. It usually does not.

If the money has already suffered TDS and is being repatriated as your own after-tax funds, the remittance may be not chargeable to tax again — that is a Part D / Form 145 Part D self-declaration, no Form 146 (15CB) required. Banks often still ask for a CA certificate as their own internal comfort, but that is the bank's risk policy, not the Income Tax Act. Knowing the difference is worth real money: a Form 15CB certificate for a single high-value remittance commonly runs ₹3,000–₹15,000 depending on the CA and city, and NRIs repatriating quarterly can pay that four times a year for filings the rules did not require.

Now flip it. Suppose you are paying ₹8 lakh in a tax year to a non-resident consultant for services used in India. That income is chargeable under Section 195, it crosses ₹5 lakh, and it is not in the specified list. This is squarely Part C — you genuinely need Form 146 (15CB) from an accountant, and skipping it is a real default. Under Section 271-I (continued in ITA 2025), failure to furnish the information, or furnishing inaccurate information, attracts a penalty of ₹1,00,000. The myth that "you always need a CA" is harmless compared to the opposite mistake — assuming you never do and getting hit with a one-lakh penalty.

The ₹5 lakh limit is an annual aggregate, not a per-transaction figure. Four taxable remittances of ₹1.5 lakh each to the same or different non-residents add up to ₹6 lakh and push you out of Part A into certificate territory. NRIs who split payments to "stay under five lakh" are working off a misunderstanding of how the threshold is measured.

Where the bank and the law diverge

The single biggest source of confusion is that your bank (the authorised dealer) and the Income Tax Act are answering two different questions. The Act asks: is this remittance chargeable to tax, and does it cross the threshold that triggers a certificate? The bank asks: do I have enough documentation to protect myself if this remittance is later challenged? Those questions usually align, but not always.

A bank's compliance desk will frequently ask for a Form 15CB (Form 146) on a high-value NRO repatriation even when the funds are demonstrably your own after-tax money — because a CA certificate is the cleanest paper trail for the bank's own file. You are entitled to push back and file Part D as a self-declaration where the remittance genuinely isn't chargeable to tax. But understand the trade-off: if the bank's internal policy requires a certificate, the bank can refuse to process the transfer until it gets one, and that is within its rights as the remitting institution. The Act sets the floor of what you must file; the bank can demand more for its own risk management. Knowing which requirement is legal and which is discretionary lets you negotiate from the right position instead of simply paying for every certificate asked of you.

How DTAA rates change the Part C calculation

If the payment is chargeable to tax and you are claiming a reduced withholding rate under a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement — say 10% or 15% instead of the domestic Section 195 rate — the accountant certifying Form 15CB (Form 146) will need to see your Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) and Form 10F before applying the treaty rate. This matters for the ₹5 lakh test because the certificate is about the gross remittance, not the net tax. A ₹7 lakh taxable payment still sits in Part C and still needs Form 146 even if the treaty drops the tax to a few thousand rupees. The DTAA lowers your tax, not your filing obligation.

Step-by-step: what to do

• Classify the payment first. Ask one question: is this remittance chargeable to tax in India under the Act? After-tax NRO repatriation and specified-list personal remittances generally are not; payments for taxable Indian-source income (fees for technical services, royalties, taxable capital gains) generally are.
• Check the specified list. If your remittance is one of the 33 categories in Rule 37BB (personal travel, education, medical, maintenance of relatives, import of goods), you file nothing — stop here.
• Measure the year-to-date total. Add up all remittances of this type in the current Tax Year. The ₹5 lakh test is cumulative, not per-payment.
• Pick your part of Form 15CA / Form 145: Part A if taxable and ≤ ₹5 lakh; Part D if not chargeable to tax; Part B if you hold an AO certificate under 195(2)/(3)/197; Part C if taxable and above ₹5 lakh.
• Get Form 146 (15CB) only for Part C. Engage an accountant to certify the nature of the payment and the tax withheld, then file it before submitting Part C.
• File on the e-filing portal, then hand the system-generated acknowledgement to your bank (authorised dealer) before the remittance. The bank cannot release the transfer without it where the rule applies.
• Keep the acknowledgement. Retain the filed form and any 15CB/146 certificate — it is your proof if the remittance is questioned later.

FAQ

Do I need a CA for every foreign remittance?
No. A CA certificate (Form 15CB, now Form 146) is required only for a remittance that is chargeable to tax and exceeds ₹5 lakh in the Tax Year — that is Part C of Form 15CA / Form 145. Below ₹5 lakh, or where the payment isn't taxable, or where it's on Rule 37BB's specified list, you file a self-declaration or nothing at all.

Can I repatriate my own NRO money without Form 15CB?
Often yes. If the funds are your own after-tax balance and the remittance is not chargeable to tax again, it is reported on Part D of Form 15CA / Form 145 as a self-declaration — no Form 146 needed under the Act. Your bank may still ask for a CA certificate as its internal policy; that is the bank's requirement, not the law's.

What changed under ITA 2025 — are 15CA and 15CB gone?
The forms were renumbered, not abolished. From 1 April 2026, Form 15CA becomes Form 145 and Form 15CB becomes Form 146 for new remittances. The rules, thresholds, and four-part structure are unchanged, and pre-April 2026 filings on the old forms remain valid.

What's the penalty if I get it wrong?
Failure to furnish the form, or furnishing inaccurate information, carries a penalty of ₹1,00,000 under Section 271-I (continued under ITA 2025). The risk runs in both directions — skipping a required Part C / Form 146 is the costly mistake, not over-filing.

Closing

The "you always need a CA" rule of thumb costs NRIs money when it's wrong in their favour and risks a ₹1 lakh penalty when it's wrong against them. The right answer turns entirely on whether your specific remittance is taxable, what it totals for the Tax Year, and whether it sits on Rule 37BB's exempt list. For your specific situation, book a consultation at harunraaj.com.

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