Almost every NRI who has tried to move money out of India has met these two forms, usually at the counter, usually at the point where the transfer was supposed to be routine. Understanding what each one is for saves a fortnight.
The obligation, and where it now comes from
The Income-tax Act, 1961 has been repealed and replaced by the Income-tax Act, 2025, in force from 1 April 2026. The obligation now sits in the compliance and reporting provision of the new Act, which says that every person responsible for paying to a non-resident, not being a company or a foreign company, any sum, whether or not chargeable under the Act, shall furnish the information relating to payment of such sum in the form and manner prescribed. Two features of that sentence matter. The duty is on the payer, not on you. And it applies whether or not the payment is taxable, which is why a bank asks for a form even on a remittance that plainly attracts no tax.
What each document actually does
- The declaration, now Form 145 for remittances from 1 April 2026. Filed electronically on the income-tax portal by the person making the remittance, before the money is sent. It is divided into parts, and which part applies depends on the size of the remittance during the year, whether an accountant's certificate has been obtained, whether an order or certificate has been obtained from the Assessing Officer, and whether the remittance is chargeable to tax at all.
- The accountant's certificate, now Form 146 for remittances from 1 April 2026. A certificate from an accountant on the nature of the remittance, whether it is chargeable in India, the rate applied and the treaty position relied on. It is event based rather than universal. It is not required for every remittance, and it is not required where the amount is below the threshold at which the certificate becomes necessary or where the appropriate part of the declaration does not call for it.
The Income Tax Department identifies Forms 145 and 146 as the successors to Forms 15CA and 15CB for remittances from 1 April 2026. The older forms remain relevant to earlier remittances and periods. Use the correct form for the payment date, and check the applicable part, exemption and certificate requirement. You do not automatically need both forms for every remittance.
Why the bank insists even though it is not a tax authority
Exchange control does not decide tax, and the Reserve Bank says as much. Its Master Direction on Remittance of Assets states that remittances are subject to payment of applicable taxes in India, that the Reserve Bank will not issue instructions under exchange control law clarifying tax issues, and that it is mandatory for authorised dealers to comply with the requirements of tax law. Your authorised dealer bank is therefore not permitted to send the money on your assurance that the tax is fine.
Five things that go wrong
- No permanent account number, or a mismatched one. Everything in this chain runs off the number. If the name on the number does not match the name on the sale deed or the account, expect the file to stop.
- The wrong part of the declaration. Filing under the part that says the remittance is not chargeable, when it plainly is, is not a shortcut. It is a false declaration on the record.
- A mismatch between the certificate and the tax actually deducted. Where the buyer of a property has deducted at one rate and the accountant certifies another, the bank will send the file back. Get the two aligned before either is finalised.
- A treaty rate claimed without a residence certificate. A non-resident is entitled to relief under a double taxation agreement only on obtaining a certificate of residence from the government of that country and furnishing the prescribed documents. Without it, the relief is not available at this stage.
- Leaving it to the last week. Where a lower deduction certificate is being obtained from the Assessing Officer, that has to come first, because the declaration and the accountant's certificate are built on it.
How it fits with everything else
Think of a remittance as three gates in sequence. The tax on the underlying transaction, which for a property sale is decided at completion by what the buyer deducts, and our guide on tax deduction when an NRI sells Indian property covers that. Then this reporting layer. Then the exchange control layer, with its annual ceiling and its bank undertakings, set out in our guide on repatriating money from India as an NRI. Each gate has its own paperwork, and a file that clears two of them and stalls at the third is the ordinary experience of people who start at the bank instead of at the beginning.
The forms themselves are prescribed by rules made under the Act and are changed from time to time. Which form, which part and whether an accountant's certificate is needed for your particular remittance should be settled with a chartered accountant for the specific payment and tax year.