Form 15CB

Introduction

Form 15CB is a certificate to be furnished by an Accountant in cases where any payment chargeable to income tax is made to a Non-Resident, not being a company or to a Foreign Company, and a certificate .

Form 15CB, however, is not a declaration, but a certificate issued by a Chartered Accountant ensuring that the provisions of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and the Income Tax Act have been complied with in respect of tax deductions while making the payments. It includes the following:

• Details and nature of payment made to a Non-Resident.
• Compliance with Section 195 of the Income Tax Act.
• Rate of TDS deducted.
• Applicability of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.

Purpose

Form 15CB is an Accountant’s certificate required for payment to be made to a Non-Resident (not being a Company) or to a Foreign Company, which is taxable and if the payment / aggregate of such payments exceed ?5 Lakh in the financial year. This form enables the CA to certify the details of remittance to be made outside India and ultimately used by the person who is responsible for making the payment in filing Form 15 CA Part-C.

Who can use it?

A CA who is registered on the e-Filing portal and one who has been assigned Form 15CA, Part-C by the person responsible for making the payment is entitled to certify details in Form 15CB. The CA should also possess a DSC registered with the e-Filing portal for e-Verification of the submitted form. 

Prerequisites for availing this service.

• CA should be registered as Chartered Accountant on the e-Filing portal.
• Status of PAN of CA should be Active.
• CA should possess a valid Digital Signature Certificate that is not expired.
• Taxpayer should have assigned Form 15CB Part-C to the CA

Documents required for Form 15 CB: -

A. Details of Remitter

• Remitter’s Name
• Remitter’s Address
• Remitter’s PAN Number
• Principal Place of Business of the Remitter
• E-Mail Address and Phone No. Of Remitter
• Status of the Remitter (Firm/Company/Other)

B. Details of Remittee

• Name and Status of the Remittee
• Address of the Remittee
• Principal Place of Business Country of the Remittee

C. Details of the Remittance

• Country to Which Remittance Is Made
• Currency in Which Remittance Is Made
• Amount of Remittance in Indian Currency
• Proposed Date of Remittance
• Nature of Remittance as Per Agreement (Invoice Copy to Be Asked from Client)

D. Bank Details of the Remitter

• Name of Bank of the Remitter
• Name of Branch of the Bank
• BSR Code of the Bank

E. Others

• Father’s Name of the Signing Person
• Designation Of the Signing Person

Steps to fill Form 15 CB

Step 1: Log in to the e-Filing portal with valid CA credentials.

Step 2: On your Dashboard, click e-File > Income Tax Forms > File Income Tax Forms.

Step 3: On the File Income Tax Forms page, select Form 15CB. Alternatively, enter Form 15CB in the search box to file the form.

Step 4: On the Form 15CB page, select the Submission Mode as Online, choose the appropriate Financial Year (F.Y.) and click Continue.

Step 5: On the Instructions page, click Let’s Get Started.

Step 6: Before starting to fill the details, enter the PAN of the taxpayer who has assigned the form to CA and click Proceed.

(If PAN of the Taxpayer is not linked with the Aadhaar, CA will see a pop-up message that PAN of the Taxpayer is inoperative as it is not linked with Aadhaar. Click on Continue button to file the Form.)

Step 7: Fill the required details and click Preview.

Step 8: On the Preview page, click Proceed to E-Verify.

Step 9: Click Yes to submit.

Step 10: On the Unique Document Identification Number page, enter the Unique Document Identification Number, select the checkbox and click Proceed.

Step 11: On clicking Proceed, you will be taken to the E-Verify page. (E-Verify the form using DSC.)

On successful e-Verification, a success message is displayed along with the Transaction ID and Acknowledgement Number. Please keep a note of the Transaction ID and Acknowledgement Number for future reference An email confirming successful submission will be sent on your email ID registered on the eFiling portal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it compulsory to submit Form 15CB?

No, it is not compulsory to submit Form 15CB. Form 15CB is an event-based form that is to be filled only when the remittance amount exceeds Rs.5 lakh during a financial year and you are required to furnish an accountant certificate defined as per Section 288 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Who can use Form 15CB?

Form 15CB is submitted and accessed by a Chartered Accountant (CA) registered on the e-Filing portal. The taxpayer must assign Form 15CA to the CA in order to be able to certify the details in Form 15CB.

 Is it compulsory to file Form 15CB before filing Part-C of Form 15CA?

Yes, uploading of Form 15CB is compulsory prior to the filling of Part C of Form 15CA. The acknowledgement number of the e-verified Form 15CB should be verified for prefilling the details in Part C of Form 15CA.

 How should Form 15CB be verified? 

The Form 15CB can only be e-verified using the Digital Signature Certificate (DSC). The DSC of the CA should be registered on the e-Filing portal. There is no prescribed time limit for submitting Form 15CB. But, it must be submitted before the remittance is made.