The banker said "we'll take care of it." The forms are not the bank's to file. Under rule 220 of the Income-tax Rules 2026, the person responsible for paying a non-resident furnishes the information, and the bank receives it before it remits (rule 220(1) and (4)).

From 1 April 2026, Form 15CA is **Form 145** and Form 15CB is **Form 146**. Rule 37BB of the Income-tax Rules 1962 has been replaced by **rule 220 of the Income-tax Rules 2026** (Notification No. 22/2026, G.S.R. 198(E), in force from 1 April 2026). Before that date, the forms were Form 15CA and Form 15CB under Rule 37BB.

## Which part of Form 145 you file

Rule 220 turns on two questions: is the payment **chargeable to tax** in India, and does it cross **₹5 lakh** in the tax year?

- **Chargeable to tax** means the sum is taxable under the Income-tax Act in the hands of the non-resident who receives it. It stays chargeable even if an Assessing Officer certificate lowers or removes the TDS; that case goes in Part B, not Part D.
- The general TDS entry for other sums paid to non-residents is section 393(2) of the Income-tax Act 2025 (Table, Sl. No. 17). It carries forward section 195(1); the rest of section 195 moved to sections 395, 397 and 400.
- **Tax year** means the financial year, 1 April to 31 March (section 3(1)).

| Your payment | What you furnish | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Chargeable to tax, up to ₹5 lakh in the tax year | Form 145, **Part A** | 220(1)(a) |
| Chargeable, above ₹5 lakh, and you hold an Assessing Officer certificate or order under section 395(1) or (2) (a certificate for lower or no TDS, or an order fixing how much of the sum is chargeable) | Form 145, **Part B** | 220(1)(b) |
| Chargeable, above ₹5 lakh, with a certificate in **Form 146** from an accountant | Form 145, **Part C** (not needed if Part B is furnished) | 220(1)(c) |
| Not chargeable to tax | Form 145, **Part D** | 220(2) |
| Not chargeable, and within an exemption in rule 220(3) | Nothing | 220(3) |

"Accountant" here means an accountant as defined in section 515(3)(b) of the Income-tax Act 2025 (rule 220(1)(c)).

## What is exempt (rule 220(3))

No information is needed for a sum **not chargeable to tax** if:

1. it is remitted by an **individual** and needs no prior RBI approval under section 5 of FEMA read with Schedule III to the Foreign Exchange (Current Account Transaction) Rules, 2000;
2. it is remitted by a **unit in an International Financial Services Centre** referred to in section 147(1)(b); or
3. it falls under one of the **33 purpose codes** listed in the rule. These include travel for education (S0305) and for medical treatment (S0304), remittances by non-residents towards family maintenance and savings (S1301), personal gifts and donations (S1302), and several import and Indian-investment-abroad codes.

The exemption covers only sums that are not chargeable to tax. A chargeable payment goes through Part A, B or C whatever its purpose.

## When and how

Form 145 is furnished electronically before the payment is made (rule 220(4)):
- under digital signature, then submitted to the bank, or
- electronically, with a signed printout given to the bank.

For any proceedings under the Act, an income-tax authority can ask the bank for a copy of a Form 145 furnished the second way (rule 220(5)).

## The penalty: a flat ₹1,00,000

Under section 462 of the Income-tax Act 2025 (formerly section 271-I), if a person required to furnish the information under section 397(3)(d) fails to furnish it, or furnishes inaccurate information, **the Assessing Officer may impose a penalty of ₹1,00,000** on that person.

This applies to tax years beginning on or after 1 April 2026. For a tax year that began before then, the penalty can still be imposed under the repealed Income-tax Act 1961 (section 536(2)(d) of the 2025 Act).

It is a fixed amount set by the section, not a percentage of the remittance or of the tax.

The accountant is exposed too. Under section 463, an accountant is liable to a penalty of ₹10,000 for each report or certificate with incorrect information, payable on the direction of the Assessing Officer, the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or the Commissioner (Appeals) that finds it in the course of any proceedings under the Act.

## NRO to NRE transfers

Two things to note:

- An NRI can remit up to **USD 1 million per financial year** from NRO balances (FEMA 13(R)/2016-RB, regulation 4(2)). Para 3.2 of the RBI Master Direction on Remittance of Assets includes "transfer to NRE and SNRR accounts" in that limit, so the transfer **counts toward the USD 1 million**.
- An NRO-to-NRE transfer is **not one of the 33 purpose codes** in rule 220(3).

Rule 220 does not name this transfer. Before you instruct it, ask your bank which part of Form 145 it needs, and have your CA confirm whether Form 146 applies.

The remittance is also "subject to the applicable tax laws in India" (FEMA 13(R)/2016-RB, regulation 8).

## Questions

**Are Form 15CA and Form 145 the same thing?**
Form 145 is the form under rule 220 of the Income-tax Rules 2026, in force from 1 April 2026. Form 15CA was the form under Rule 37BB of the 1962 Rules. Form 146 likewise replaces Form 15CB.

**Does my bank file it for me?**
No. You furnish Form 145, and the bank receives it before it remits (rule 220(4)).

**Is a CA certificate always needed above ₹5 lakh?**
No. It is needed for a payment that is chargeable to tax and above ₹5 lakh, unless you hold an Assessing Officer certificate or order under section 395(1) or (2). In that case you file Part B instead (rule 220(1)(b) and (c)). A payment not chargeable to tax goes in Part D, unless rule 220(3) exempts it, and needs no Form 146 (rule 220(2)).

**What is the penalty for not filing?**
The Assessing Officer may impose ₹1,00,000 under section 462 of the Income-tax Act 2025, for tax years from 1 April 2026.

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I'm CA Harun Raaj, Visakhapatnam. If a remittance is coming up, write to me before you instruct the bank and we will work out which part applies.

## See also

- [US-India DTAA Article 15 vs Article 16: What ITA 2025 Actually Says About Your Salary](https://www.harunraaj.com/blog/us-india-dtaa-article-15-vs-16-employment-income)
- [Form 10F is not an email attachment: what ITA 2025 actually requires NRIs to file online](https://www.harunraaj.com/blog/form-10f-nri-online-filing-dtaa)

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## See Also

- [TDS on Payments to NRIs under Section 393(2) ITA 2025 (formerly Section 195): Who Deducts, At What Rate, and What Happens If You Miss It](https://www.harunraaj.com/blog/section-195-tds-nri-payments-payer-responsibility)
- ["My share of firm profits is tax-free in India": what ITA 2025 actually says for NRI partners](https://www.harunraaj.com/blog/nri-partnership-firm-section-10-2a-exemption-itr3)
- [Section 54F Capital Gains Exemption 2026: 3 ITAT Rulings for NRIs](https://www.harunraaj.com/blog/section-54f-capital-gains-exemption-itat-rulings-nri)

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