Do NRIs need Form 15CA to transfer money from NRO to NRE account?
Yes. NRIs transferring funds from their NRO account to their NRE account, or repatriating directly to a foreign bank account, require Form 15CA (Part C) and Form 15CB. The CA certifies that Indian income taxes on the NRO funds have been paid before the money moves to a freely repatriable account. The annual repatriation limit from NRO accounts is USD 1 million.
Full Answer
An NRI software engineer living in the US had accumulated Rs 52 lakhs in his Kotak NRO account from rental income on a flat in Hyderabad. He wanted to repatriate the funds to his US bank account. He submitted a repatriation request to Kotak's NRI services desk in January. The bank came back asking for Form 15CA (now Form 145), Form 15CB (now Form 146), Indian income tax returns for the years the rental income accrued, TDS certificates from the tenant or self-assessment tax payment receipts, and a CA certificate on Form 10F for DTAA purposes.
He had not filed Indian income tax returns for three of the four years in question. The rental income was taxable in India at 30 percent for NRIs. The process took four months.
NRO accounts hold income that has an Indian source or origin. Under Section 6 of FEMA, 1999 and the Foreign Exchange Management (Remittance of Assets) Regulations, funds in an NRO account cannot be freely repatriated without confirming that Indian tax obligations on those funds have been met. Form 15CA and 15CB (now Form 145 and Form 146 respectively) are the mechanism by which the Income Tax compliance is certified before the funds move.
The income types commonly sitting in NRO accounts include rental income from Indian property, dividend income from Indian equities and mutual funds, interest on NRO fixed deposits, proceeds from sale of Indian property or investments, and pension or gratuity income. Each has different tax treatment under the Income Tax Act and different documentation requirements for the CA issuing 15CB.
For rental income: TDS under Section 194-I should have been deducted by the tenant if the tenant is an entity (company, firm, LLP), but residential tenants who are individuals are not required to deduct TDS. For NRI landlords, this means the rental income often arrives in the NRO account without any TDS deduction, and the NRI is required to have paid advance tax or self-assessment tax on the rental income each year. If ITRs were not filed and taxes were not paid, the CA cannot issue a clean 15CB.
For property sale proceeds: long-term capital gains on immovable property held for more than 24 months are taxed at 12.5 percent without indexation as of FY 2024-25, following the Finance Act, 2024 amendments. The buyer of the property is required to deduct TDS at 20 percent (plus surcharge and cess) under Section 195 unless a lower deduction certificate is obtained. This TDS, reflected in Form 26AS of the NRI, is the primary documentary evidence the CA needs to certify the capital gains compliance.
Shunya's CA team handles 15CA and 15CB for Indian businesses and NRIs — fully online, in 30 minutes.
Talk to a CA →For repatriation from NRO, banks also ask for Form 15CA and Form 15CB when the transfer is NRO to NRE (within India) and not just for overseas remittances. The regulatory logic is the same: NRE accounts are freely repatriable in foreign currency, and moving untaxed Indian-source income from NRO to NRE would allow that income to escape Indian tax. The CA certificate prevents this.
Under RBI's Master Direction on Non-Resident Accounts, the annual limit for repatriation from NRO accounts is USD 1 million per financial year per NRI, subject to production of the required documentation including the CA certificate. There is no provision for carrying forward unused limits to the next year.
The DTAA question arises when the NRI is a tax resident of a country that has a treaty with India. Form 10F and a Tax Residency Certificate from the country of residence may allow the NRI to claim credit in India for taxes already paid in the other country, reducing double taxation. This is a separate analysis from the 15CB but banks often ask for both together.
The most common problem we see in NRI repatriation: unfiled Indian ITRs. If income was earned in India but never declared, the 15CB process surfaces it. The correct sequence is to regularise the ITR filings first, pay any tax due including interest under Sections 234A and 234B, obtain the tax compliance clearance, and then proceed with the 15CB and repatriation. Attempting to skip the ITR regularisation and get 15CB issued over undeclared income is not an option a credible CA will participate in.
Note: Rates and thresholds mentioned are as of FY 2024-25. Always verify current figures before acting.
Can an NRI repatriate funds directly from NRO to a foreign bank account without transferring to NRE first?
Yes. NRIs can remit directly from their NRO account to a foreign bank account without first converting to NRE. Both routes require the same 15CA and 15CB documentation and are subject to the USD 1 million annual repatriation limit. The NRE route simply holds the funds in a freely repatriable Indian account as an intermediate step, which some NRIs prefer for flexibility in timing the actual overseas transfer.
This article is for general information only. For your specific remittance, consult a practicing CA.
Form 145 + Form 146 by a practising CA: ₹2,999 per remittance
Applicability check, Form 146 certificate with UDIN, Form 145 filed on the portal, bank-ready PDFs. Delivered in 30 minutes once your documents are in.
Request a free callback Pay ₹2,999 and startA CA calls within an hour (10 am–7 pm).