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Foreign Remittance & TDS Section Mapper

Check if a foreign SaaS, ad or agency payment needs Form 15CA and 15CB, work out grossed-up TDS, or map TDS sections.

Reviewed by CA Apurav GargUpdated Calculated in your browser; copied links include your figures

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Note:
Example values — replace with yours.
What do you want to check?

Payment

Needed to use the DTAA rate.

Rates and terms

Including surcharge and cess.

From the treaty with the vendor’s country.

You pay the TDS on top of the invoice.

Your result

TDS on this payment

₹93,333.33

Form 15CB (certified by a CA) and Form 15CA Part C, before the payment is sent. TDS at 10% on the grossed-up amount; total cash out ₹10,84,533.33.

Form 15CB
Required
Total cash out
₹10,84,533.33
Extra TDS without TRC
₹1,27,272.73
Warning:
The payment plus earlier remittances this year is above ₹5,00,000, so Form 15CB (certified by a CA) and Form 15CA Part C, before the payment is sent.
Cash and P&L for this payment
This paymentAmount
Invoice value₹8,40,000.00
Grossed-up amount (TDS base)₹9,33,333.33
TDS at 10%₹93,333.33
Paid to the vendor₹8,40,000.00
IGST under reverse charge at 18%₹1,51,200.00
Total cash out₹10,84,533.33
P&L expense₹9,33,333.33

What this tells you

Paying a foreign software, ad or agency vendor can need TDS, reverse-charge IGST and Form 15CA, and above ₹5,00,000 in the year, a CA-certified Form 15CB, all before the money leaves.

The first tab shows the forms, the TDS and the total cash out for one payment. The second maps a domestic expense to its TDS section under the 1961 and 2025 Acts and works out the TDS on the amount excluding GST.

Assumptions used

  • GST on marketplace, courier, payment gateway and advertising services is 18%.
  • The exchange rate you enter is used for the rupee value of the invoice.
  • The DTAA rate applies only when the TRC, Form 10F and no-PE declaration are all held.
  • Reverse-charge IGST is on the invoice value in rupees.
  • In the mapper, earlier payments are ones on which no TDS was deducted.
  • Figures are rounded for display only; the working uses exact values.
Legal references and sources
Form 15CB threshold (aggregate taxable foreign remittances in a year)
Section 195(6) read with Rule 37BB, Income-tax Rules, 1962 (and corresponding reporting rules under the Income-tax Act, 2025).
Last verified 27 Oct 2026
Income-tax Act 2025 ↔ 1961 TDS map
Section 393, Income-tax Act, 2025, and the corresponding sections of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Under Section 400(2) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (and CBDT Circular No. 23/2017 under the 1961 Act), TDS is deducted on the invoice amount excluding GST where GST is indicated separately.
Last verified 27 Oct 2026
Default GST on marketplace fees
CGST Act, 2017 read with Notification No. 11/2017–Central Tax (Rate) dated 28 June 2017: 18% on e-commerce marketplace, courier, payment-gateway and advertising services (SAC 9961 / 9962 / 9968 / 9983); verified as on 2 November 2026. Applied as the default GST on marketplace commission, fulfilment and payment-gateway fees. Each fee row in a tool can override it.
Last verified 27 Oct 2026 · Official source

How this is calculated

  1. Invoice value = foreign amount × exchange rate. Rate = DTAA rate with the treaty documents, otherwise the Act rate.
  2. Forms: invoice + earlier remittances at or below the threshold → Form 15CA Part A; with a certificate → Part B; otherwise Form 15CB + Part C. Not chargeable → Part D.
  3. Grossed up: base = invoice ÷ (1 − rate), TDS = base − invoice. Net: TDS = invoice × rate, the vendor gets invoice − TDS.
  4. Reverse-charge IGST = invoice × GST rate. Total cash out = paid to the vendor + TDS + IGST.
  5. Cost of missing treaty documents = TDS at the Act rate − TDS at the DTAA rate.
  6. Mapper: TDS = amount excluding GST × rate when a limit is crossed; on first crossing the yearly limit, earlier untaxed payments are added; for heads taxed on the excess, only the part above the yearly limit.

Terms used here

Worked examples

Example: a $10,000 SaaS invoice at ₹84

Invoice value ₹8,40,000.00, no earlier remittances, no certificate. The vendor wants the full amount, and the IGST is claimed back.

  • Form 15CB (certified by a CA) and Form 15CA Part C, before the payment is sent.
  • With TRC and Form 10F (10%): grossed up to ₹9,33,333.33, TDS ₹93,333.33, IGST ₹1,51,200.00. Total cash out ₹10,84,533.33; P&L expense ₹9,33,333.33.
  • Without them (20.8%): grossed up to ₹10,60,606.06, TDS ₹2,20,606.06, an extra ₹1,27,272.73.
  • If the vendor accepts payment net of TDS at 10%: TDS ₹84,000.00, the vendor gets ₹7,56,000.00.

Example: a ₹60,000 agency fee to a company

Professional, Legal & Agency Fees: 194J(b) under the 1961 Act, Section 393(1) under the 2025 Act. The invoice is ₹70,800.00 with GST; TDS at 10% is on ₹60,000.00, the amount excluding GST: ₹6,000.00.

Related reading: TDS on ad platform fees. Our FEMA & Cross-Border service covers TDS on domestic and foreign payments.

Questions sellers ask

When is Form 15CB needed?

When the payment is chargeable to tax in India and the payment plus earlier taxable remittances in the year is above ₹5,00,000, unless you hold a lower or nil deduction certificate from the tax officer. Form 15CB is certified by a CA and Form 15CA Part C is filed with it before the payment is sent.

What does grossing up mean?

Many foreign vendors want the full invoice amount with no tax taken out. You then pay the TDS on top, and the TDS is worked out on the grossed-up amount: invoice ÷ (1 − rate). Both the invoice and the TDS become your expense.

What do I need to use the treaty (DTAA) rate?

A valid tax residency certificate (TRC) from the vendor, Form 10F filed electronically, and usually a declaration that the vendor has no permanent establishment (PE) in India. Without them, TDS is at the Act rate, which is often higher.

Is GST payable on a foreign SaaS or ad payment?

Usually yes, as IGST under reverse charge on the import of services. You can generally claim it back as input tax credit if you use the service for your business; if you cannot, it adds to the cost.

Why is TDS on the amount excluding GST in the mapper?

Section 393, Income-tax Act, 2025, and the corresponding sections of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Under Section 400(2) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (and CBDT Circular No. 23/2017 under the 1961 Act), TDS is deducted on the invoice amount excluding GST where GST is indicated separately.

Why does the mapper add earlier payments?

For heads with a yearly limit, once the year’s payments to the same payee cross it, TDS applies to the payments made earlier in the year too, if no TDS was deducted on them. Enter only payments on which no TDS was deducted.

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Disclaimer

A planning estimate for general information only, based on the figures you enter and the settings shown. It is not professional or tax advice. Whether a payment is taxable in India, and at which rate, depends on its nature and the treaty; check before you pay.

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