Form 15CA / 15CB & fund repatriation for NRIs
The CA certificate your bank needs to release funds abroad — issued remotely, aligned with the Income-tax Act, 2025 transition to Form 145/146, and coordinated with FEMA's USD 1M annual limit.
What 15CA and 15CB actually do
Any remittance abroad from an Indian account that is chargeable to taxtriggers two documents: Form 15CB — the CA's certificate that Indian tax has been discharged — and Form 15CA — the remitter's declaration on the income-tax portal. Banks refuse to release funds without both, in the shape prescribed by RBI. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025 these are being renumbered as Form 145 (remitter declaration) and Form 146 (CA certificate); we track the notification and file whichever is live at your remittance date.
The USD 1M / financial year limit
FEMA allows an NRI to repatriate up to USD 1,000,000 per financial year out of the balance held in an NRO account. Current-year income (rent, interest) sits outside this cap. Balances in NRE accounts are freely repatriable. Where a single property sale exceeds this cap, we structure the remittance across financial years and coordinate with your bank on the LRS documentation.
Documents we'll ask for
- PAN & passport (with visa/OCI page)
- Bank account details (NRO/NRE)
- Source of funds — sale deed, ITR, gift deed, will, etc.
- TDS challans / Form 26AS extract
- Purpose code (as per RBI list)
- Beneficiary account details abroad
- Tax Residency Certificate (if DTAA relief applies)
- Any Section 197 certificate obtained
Turnaround
3–5 working days for the CA certificate once all documents are in. Bank-side processing 2–5 additional days. If Section 197 lower-TDS or an ITR is upstream, expect 3–6 weeks end-to-end — worth planning around, not into.
FAQs
Form 15CB is a chartered accountant's certificate confirming that any Indian tax due on a foreign remittance has been paid. Form 15CA is the remitter's declaration filed on the income-tax portal, which the bank relies on to release funds abroad. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025 the government has announced Form 145 and Form 146 to replace them — we file whichever is current at the time of your remittance and transition your file as the rollout progresses.