Any business or individual paying a non-resident or a foreign company from India now works with new form numbers. For remittances made on or after 1 April 2026, the Income-tax Act, 2025 applies and the reporting forms are Form 145 (which replaces Form 15CA) and Form 146 (which replaces Form 15CB). The Income Tax Department confirms this in its Income Tax Forms FAQs, which identify section 397(3)(d) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 as the provision corresponding to the old Form 15CA/15CB framework under the 1961 Act.
This guide explains what each form does, how to choose the right part of Form 145, when a CA certificate is needed, which remittances need no form at all, how the transition from the 1961 Act works, and a step-by-step workflow with worked examples.
Old forms and new forms at a glance
| Item | Income-tax Act, 1961 (payments up to 31 March 2026) | Income-tax Act, 2025 (payments from 1 April 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Remitter's declaration | Form 15CA | Form 145 |
| Accountant's certificate | Form 15CB | Form 146 |
| Governing provision | Reporting framework under the 1961 Act | Section 397(3)(d) |
| Rules | Income-tax Rules, 1962 | Rule 220 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 |
Form 145 is the remitter's declaration of the remittance details and the tax deducted. Form 146 is the certificate in which a chartered accountant certifies the nature of the remittance, its taxability, the applicability of any Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) and the rate at which tax is to be deducted.
Choosing the right part of Form 145
The official Form No. 145, Payments to Non-Residents/Foreign Company, notified with corresponding Rule 220 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, has four parts:
| Part | When it applies (wording of the form) | Certificate needed |
|---|---|---|
| Part A | Remittance or the aggregate of such remittances is chargeable to tax and does not exceed ₹5 lakh during the tax year | None |
| Part B | Chargeable to tax, aggregate exceeds ₹5 lakh during the tax year, and a certificate under section 395(1) or 395(2) has been obtained from the Assessing Officer | AO certificate |
| Part C | Chargeable to tax, aggregate exceeds ₹5 lakh during the tax year, and a certificate in Form No. 146 from an accountant has been obtained | Form 146 |
| Part D | Remittance is not chargeable to tax | None |
The first question is therefore taxability, not amount. A large remittance does not automatically need a CA certificate, and a small taxable one still needs Part A. The ₹5 lakh test is applied to the remittance or the aggregate of such remittances during the tax year, so a series of small payments to the same category can cross the limit part way through the year. The Form 145 user manual also notes that Part D excludes payments covered by Rule 220(3) by specified persons.
Part B removes a duplicate certificate
Under the Department's FAQs, a taxpayer filing Part B of Form 145 on the strength of an Assessing Officer certificate is not required to obtain Form 146. Where the AO has already decided the rate or the non-deduction position under section 395, a separate accountant's certificate is not needed.
Remittances that need no Form 145
The notified form lists cases where Form 145 is not required:
- a remittance by an individual that does not require prior approval of the RBI, that is, payments by an individual under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme;
- a remittance made by a Unit of an International Financial Services Centre; and
- a remittance of the nature specified under the relevant purpose code as per the RBI.
Check the purpose code list in the form before concluding that a payment is exempt.
When Form 146 is needed and how it is filed
According to the Form 146 user manual, Form 146 is the accountant's certificate required for a payment to a non-resident (not being a company) or to a foreign company which is taxable, where the payment or aggregate of such payments exceeds ₹5 lakh in the tax year. It feeds Part C of Form 145.
The filing sequence on the e-filing portal is:
- The CA registers on the e-filing portal with the ICAI membership number; the CA's status must be "Active" and a valid Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) is needed.
- The taxpayer assigns Form 146 to the CA through the portal.
- The CA fills the form online and e-verifies it with the DSC.
- The taxpayer uses the certified details to file Part C of Form 145.
The user manual states that there is no fixed deadline for submitting Form 146, but Form 145 must be submitted before the remittance is made, so in practice the certificate has to be ready before the bank processes the payment. On UDIN, the Department's FAQs say Form 146 carries the UDIN for real-time verification through the ICAI API, while the current user manual describes the UDIN field as optional. Generating a UDIN for every certificate is the safer practice for a practising CA.
What the CA should examine
- The agreement, invoice and exact nature of the payment (royalty, fees for technical services, interest, dividend, business profits, reimbursement and so on).
- Chargeability under the Income-tax Act, 2025.
- Whether a DTAA applies and whether the payee is eligible for it, with tax residency and other supporting documents on file.
- The rate of deduction, and whether the treaty or domestic rate is lower.
- The aggregate remitted to date in the tax year, so that the right Form 145 part is used.
Transition from Forms 15CA and 15CB
The Department's FAQs set out three rules:
- Old forms already filed: a Form 15CA/15CB filed for a remittance made before 31 March 2026 remains valid.
- Payments on or after 1 April 2026: the Income-tax Act, 2025 applies and Forms 145 and 146 are required. If a remittance planned under an old form did not actually go out before the cut-off, file fresh forms before paying.
- Accrual in one Act, payment in the other: where the liability accrued in February 2026 and the money is remitted in April 2026, the procedural requirement follows the law in force on the date of remittance (the 2025 Act), while the taxability of the underlying income is governed by the Act applicable to the year of accrual (the 1961 Act).
The third rule matters for year-end provisions. A foreign vendor invoice booked in March 2026 and paid in April 2026 is reported on Form 145, with the certificate analysing taxability under the 1961 Act.
Worked examples
Example 1: A single taxable payment of ₹8 lakh
An Indian company proposes to pay ₹8 lakh to a foreign service provider. After reviewing the 2025 Act and the applicable DTAA, it concludes the payment is chargeable to tax in India. It has no AO certificate. The payment is taxable and above ₹5 lakh, so the company obtains Form 146 from its CA and files Part C of Form 145. Had the company obtained an AO certificate under section 395, it would file Part B and would not need Form 146.
Example 2: Small payments that cross ₹5 lakh during the year
A firm pays a non-resident consultant for taxable services in four instalments during tax year 2026-27:
| Month | Remittance (₹) | Aggregate in the tax year (₹) | Form 145 part |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | 3,00,000 | 3,00,000 | Part A |
| July 2026 | 1,50,000 | 4,50,000 | Part A |
| October 2026 | 2,00,000 | 6,50,000 | Part B or Part C |
| January 2027 | 1,00,000 | 7,50,000 | Part B or Part C |
Because the form's test uses the aggregate during the tax year, the October remittance takes the total above ₹5 lakh. From that point the firm needs either an AO certificate (Part B) or a Form 146 certificate (Part C). Keep a running register of remittances per payee so the switch is not missed.
Example 3: A payment that is not taxable
If the CA's analysis shows that a payment is not chargeable to tax in India, the remitter files Part D of Form 145. Keep the analysis supporting non-taxability on file with the acknowledgement.
A pre-remittance workflow
- Identify the payment: payee, country, agreement, invoice, nature of payment and RBI purpose code.
- Check the exclusions: LRS payment by an individual, IFSC unit or a specified purpose code means no Form 145.
- Decide taxability: apply the 2025 Act and the DTAA; do not assume every overseas payment is taxable or exempt.
- Check the aggregate: total remittances in the tax year against ₹5 lakh.
- Pick the route: Part A, Part B with an AO certificate, Part C with Form 146, or Part D.
- Deduct tax at the certified rate and file Form 145 before the bank remits.
- Retain evidence: acknowledgements, the certificate, taxability analysis, tax residency documents and bank remittance advice.
Common mistakes
- Using Form 15CA or 15CB for a payment actually made on or after 1 April 2026.
- Choosing a part only from the amount without first deciding taxability.
- Tracking each payment separately and missing the point where the tax-year aggregate crosses ₹5 lakh.
- Obtaining Form 146 when an AO certificate already supports Part B.
- Filing Form 145 for an LRS remittance by an individual, which the form excludes.
- Confusing the accrual date with the remittance date during the transition.
Updated on 27 September 2026: merged the Form 15CA/15CB explainer into this page, added the official Form 145 wording and Rule 220 reference, the list of remittances needing no form, the Form 146 filing steps and UDIN position, and a worked example on the ₹5 lakh aggregate, verified against Income Tax Department sources.
