Under India's Direct Tax Code 2025 (DTC 2025), the familiar Form 15CA and Form 15CB for foreign remittances have been renumbered as Form 145 and Form 146 respectively. The core compliance obligation — reporting and certifying taxable remittances made outside India — remains unchanged. What has changed is the statutory framework, certain reporting thresholds, and the way these forms are processed on the income tax portal. If your business makes payments to non-residents, here is exactly what you need to know for FY 2026-27 onwards.

• Form 145 replaces Form 15CA (remitter's self-declaration)
• Form 146 replaces Form 15CB (Chartered Accountant's certificate)
• The Rs. 5 lakh per-transaction and Rs. 5 lakh aggregate thresholds are broadly retained
• DTC 2025 cross-references replace the old Income Tax Act 1961 sections

What Are Form 145 and Form 146?

Form 145 is the remitter's online declaration filed on the income tax portal before making a foreign remittance that may be chargeable to tax in India. Form 146 is the certificate issued by a Chartered Accountant confirming the nature of the remittance, the applicable tax rate, and the amount of TDS deducted. Together they replace the older Form 15CA and Form 15CB regime under the Income Tax Act, 1961, which has been superseded by the Direct Tax Code 2025.

The rename is not merely cosmetic. DTC 2025 introduces a consolidated, code-based numbering system across all prescribed forms. The substantive compliance requirement — that a remitter must furnish an undertaking and obtain a CA certificate for taxable foreign payments — continues without disruption.

Why Did the Government Rename These Forms?

The Direct Tax Code 2025 replaces the Income Tax Act, 1961 in its entirety. All sections, rules, and prescribed forms under the old Act have been recodified. Form 15CA derived its authority from Section 195 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 read with Rule 37BB of the Income Tax Rules, 1962. Under DTC 2025, the equivalent provisions are renumbered, and the forms prescribed under the new rules carry the new numbers — Form 145 and Form 146.

The government's stated objective was to simplify the direct tax law, reduce ambiguity, and make it easier for taxpayers and practitioners to navigate the statute. The renaming of forms is one visible outcome of that reorganisation. The underlying policy — ensuring tax is withheld on payments to non-residents before funds leave India — is unchanged.

What Changed and What Hasn't?

Aspect	Old Regime (Form 15CA / 15CB)	New Regime (Form 145 / 146)
Governing Law	Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 195 & Rule 37BB	Direct Tax Code, 2025 — equivalent DTC provisions
Form for Remitter's Declaration	Form 15CA (Parts A, B, C, D)	Form 145 (restructured parts under DTC)
Form for CA Certificate	Form 15CB	Form 146
Who Must File	Any person making a taxable remittance to a non-resident	Same — any person making a taxable remittance to a non-resident
Threshold for CA Certificate	Rs. 5 lakh per transaction or Rs. 5 lakh aggregate in FY	Broadly retained (verify exact threshold in DTC Rules once notified)
Filing Mode	Online on Income Tax e-filing portal	Online on Income Tax e-filing portal (same portal, new form numbers)
Bank Submission	Acknowledgement number submitted to authorised dealer bank	Same process — acknowledgement number submitted to AD bank
DTAA Benefits	Applicable; supported by TRC, Form 10F, No-PE Declaration	Same supporting documents required; DTAA rates continue to apply
Section 115A (Royalty / FTS)	TDS at 20% + surcharge + cess; no ITR needed if not claiming DTAA	Equivalent DTC provision; rate structure retained at 20% + surcharge + cess
Exempted Remittances	Specified list under Rule 37BB (travel, education, etc.)	Equivalent exemption list under DTC Rules

Who Needs to File Form 145 and Form 146?

Any Indian resident — individual, HUF, company, LLP, firm, or trust — that makes a payment to a non-resident or a foreign company which is chargeable to tax in India must file Form 145 before initiating the remittance. This includes payments for royalties, fees for technical services (FTS), interest, dividends, capital gains, and professional fees paid to overseas entities.

Form 146 (the CA certificate) is additionally required when the remittance exceeds Rs. 5 lakh in a financial year for a single payee and the remitter cannot self-certify under the lower-threshold part of Form 145. A practising Chartered Accountant examines the nature of the payment, verifies the applicable DTAA provisions or domestic rate, confirms TDS has been or will be deducted correctly, and issues Form 146 before the CA uploads the certificate on the portal.

Remittances Exempt from Form 145

Certain categories of outward remittances do not require Form 145 filing. These include travel expenses up to prescribed limits, educational fees paid directly to foreign universities, medical treatment expenses, and remittances covered under specific RBI exemptions. Always verify the current exemption list under the DTC Rules, as the list may be updated when the DTC subordinate rules are finalised and notified.

How Does DTAA Interact with Form 145 and Form 146?

If the non-resident payee wishes to claim DTAA benefit — for instance, a lower withholding rate on royalties under a bilateral tax treaty — the following documents remain mandatory under the DTC 2025 regime, exactly as they were under the Income Tax Act, 1961:

• Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) issued by the foreign tax authority
• Self-declaration in the equivalent of Form 10F (renumbered under DTC)
• No Permanent Establishment (No-PE) Declaration from the foreign entity
• PAN card of the foreign company (required to file ITR in India if DTAA benefit is availed)
• DSC of the authorised foreign signatory (a foreign director's organisational DSC is required; a regular individual DSC of the director alone is not sufficient)
• Income Tax login credentials of the foreign entity

It is important to note: if a foreign company avails DTAA benefits in India, it must also file an Income Tax Return (ITR) in India. On the other hand, if royalty or FTS payments are taxed under the equivalent of Section 115A at 20% plus surcharge plus cess, no ITR filing is required by the foreign recipient. DTAA rates — for example, 10% under the India-UAE treaty, 10% under India-Russia, or 10% under India-China — are lower and therefore incentivise DTAA compliance with its additional documentation requirements.

For a detailed checklist on DTAA compliance for Indian companies making cross-border payments, see our guide on DTAA compliance for Indian companies. You can also read about No-PE declarations and how they work in practice.

How to File Form 145 and Form 146 in 2026

As of FY 2026-27, the process for filing Form 145 and obtaining Form 146 on the income tax portal follows these steps:

1. Assess the remittance: Determine whether the payment to the non-resident is chargeable to tax in India and identify the applicable rate — either DTAA rate or domestic DTC rate.
2. Engage a CA (if Form 146 is required): For remittances exceeding the prescribed threshold, engage a practising CA to examine and certify the payment. The CA will upload Form 146 digitally using their credentials on the income tax portal.
3. File Form 145 on the portal: Log in to the income tax e-filing portal, navigate to the foreign remittance section, and fill Form 145 with remittance details, payee information, applicable DTC provision or DTAA article, and TDS amount.
4. Collect the acknowledgement number: On successful submission, the portal generates a unique acknowledgement number for Form 145.
5. Submit to the authorised dealer bank: Provide the acknowledgement number along with Form 146 (where applicable) to your bank (the authorised dealer) before initiating the wire transfer. The bank will not process the remittance without this compliance step.
6. Deduct and deposit TDS: Ensure TDS is deducted at the correct rate and deposited with the government by the applicable due date.

For businesses making regular cross-border payments — SaaS subscriptions, royalties, management fees, or technical services — it is advisable to set up a standing process with a compliance partner to avoid delays in payments to overseas vendors.

Our detailed guide on TDS on SaaS payments to foreign companies covers the specific application of these rules to software and cloud service payments.

What Are the TDS Due Dates and Rates?

Under DTC 2025, TDS deducted on foreign remittances must be deposited with the government by the 7th of the month following the month of deduction. For March deductions, the due date is 30 April.

Deductor Category	TDS Payment Due Date
Individual / HUF (non-audit cases)	7th of the following month (30 April for March)
Companies, LLPs, Firms, Trusts, Other Than Individuals	7th of the following month (30 April for March)

Applicable TDS Rates on Foreign Remittances

Nature of Payment	Rate (No DTAA / Section 115A Equivalent)	Common DTAA Rate
Royalty / Fees for Technical Services	20% + surcharge + cess	10% (India-UAE, India-China, India-Russia, India-Sweden, India-Switzerland, India-South Korea)
Interest	20% + surcharge + cess	10%–15% depending on treaty
Dividends	20% + surcharge + cess	As per applicable treaty
Other Income (Business Profits, Capital Gains)	Slab / applicable DTC rate	As per applicable treaty

Note: The 10% rate shown above for royalty/FTS applies only when the relevant DTAA is in force and all conditions (TRC, No-PE Declaration, PAN, Form 10F equivalent) are fulfilled. Without DTAA compliance, the domestic DTC rate of 20% plus surcharge plus cess applies.

What Are the Penalties for Non-Filing?

Failure to file Form 145 before making a foreign remittance, or failure to obtain Form 146 when required, attracts significant penalties under DTC 2025:

• Penalty for non-deduction or short deduction of TDS: Equal to the amount of TDS not deducted, in addition to interest on the unpaid TDS amount.
• Disallowance of expenditure: Payments to non-residents on which TDS was not deducted may be disallowed as a business expense, increasing your taxable income.
• Prosecution risk: In cases of wilful default, prosecution provisions under DTC 2025 may apply.
• Bank-level hold: Authorised dealer banks are required to verify Form 145 compliance before processing foreign remittances. Non-compliance will result in the remittance being held up.

How Taxocity Helps with Form 145 and Form 146 Compliance

Taxocity has supported Indian businesses with cross-border tax compliance for over three decades. Our team of qualified Chartered Accountants and tax professionals manages the entire Form 145 and Form 146 process end to end — from assessing the taxability of your remittance, identifying the applicable DTAA treaty rate, preparing and uploading Form 146, to coordinating with your bank's forex desk.

With a 4.8/5 rating from 5,000+ clients and a 100% compliance guarantee, we ensure your foreign remittances go through on time without last-minute compliance scrambles. Whether you make occasional overseas payments or run regular cross-border transactions with foreign vendors, our real human experts are available to guide you at every step — from the first remittance to ongoing TDS filing and DTAA documentation.

We also help foreign companies obtain their PAN, set up their income tax login, procure the DSC of the foreign authorised signatory (including email OTP, video verification, and address proof), and file their Indian ITR when DTAA benefits are availed. Read more about PAN card requirements for foreign companies in India and how to navigate royalty payments and Form 15CA/15CB (now Form 145/146) for Singapore-India remittances.

Key Takeaways

1. Form 15CA is now Form 145 and Form 15CB is now Form 146 under DTC 2025, effective from the FY governed by the new Code.
2. The compliance obligation — filing before remittance, obtaining a CA certificate for larger payments — is unchanged.
3. DTAA benefits continue to require TRC, No-PE Declaration, PAN, Form 10F equivalent, and DSC of the foreign authorised signatory.
4. Without DTAA compliance, royalty and FTS payments attract TDS at 20% + surcharge + cess under the DTC equivalent of Section 115A.
5. Non-filing can result in TDS penalties, expenditure disallowance, and bank-level remittance holds.
6. Foreign companies that avail DTAA benefits in India must also file an Indian ITR; those taxed at the flat 20% rate do not need to.
7. TDS must be deposited by the 7th of the following month (30 April for March deductions) for all deductor categories.

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Disclaimer: This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice, legal advice, or a professional opinion. Tax laws and compliance requirements change frequently; the specific provisions of the Direct Tax Code 2025 and its subordinate rules as notified from time to time will prevail. Please consult a qualified Chartered Accountant or tax advisor before making any decisions based on this content. Taxocity provides professional tax and compliance services — contact us for advice tailored to your situation.