Kinshasa now taxes your Indian income. Plan for it.
India and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have no tax treaty or treaty rate. From 1 January 2026, DRC personal income tax reaches residents' Indian interest, dividends, gains and Non-Resident External (NRE) interest India exempts. Use an Indian income tax return to refund tax deducted at source (TDS) above slab tax, Form 128 (formerly Form 13) before selling property, and Form 145/146 (formerly 15CA/15CB) to bring money out.
No DTAA. But a lot of other work you still need help with.
ITR filing, Form 13 lower-TDS, tax notices, repatriation, Section 91 relief. That's where we help.
about 25,000 (22,000 NRIs and 3,000 PIOs)
Indians in Congo
Senior CAs handle your whole India tax side, filing, recovery, notices, property, repatriation. No India trip needed.
Not just DTAA
Chartered Accountants for DR Congo NRIs. Your whole India tax life
DTAA refund recovery is our flagship, but it's one of many things our ICAI-registered CAs handle for DR Congo NRIs, filing, property, tax notices, repatriation and more, all from DR Congo with no India trip.
NRI ITR filing
Our CAs file your ITR-2 / ITR-3 from abroad
DTAA TDS recovery
Cut 30% NRO TDS to your treaty rate, recover past years
Property sale (Form 13)
Cut the 12.5% TDS before you sell
Tax notices
Section 148 / 143 / 245 replies, handled
Repatriation (15CA / 15CB)
Move funds out without bank friction
Inherited property
Cost step-up, sale and repatriation
Form 10F / TRC
Treaty-rate paperwork, end-to-end
No DTAA, here's what we still do
India and DR Congo have no treaty. Your Indian tax life still needs a CA.
The Income Tax Department lists no Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) interest suffers 30% tax deducted at source (TDS) and dividends 20%. From 1 January 2026, Law 23/053 replaced 2025 local taxes with worldwide personal income tax (IRPP) (Article 59) for residents (home, work, or 183 days in 12 months, Article 60), covering Indian and Non-Resident External (NRE) interest, dividends and gains. Ask the Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI) if Article 121 deducts TDS. In India, returns refund excess TDS; Form 128 (formerly Form 13) cuts property TDS.
Form 13 lower-TDS
Apply for a lower (or nil) TDS certificate before your bank/buyer deducts. The cleanest way to avoid the 30% hit at source.
Section 91 unilateral relief
If you've already paid Nigerian tax on the same income, claim foreign tax credit in your Indian ITR under Section 91, the only relief route when there's no treaty.
15CA / 15CB repatriation
Move funds out of your NRO account to your overseas account, properly documented and CA-certified. Required by every Indian bank.
ITR filing for NRIs
Annual return, past-year condonation, Form 67 for foreign tax credits, capital gains, property sale TDS reconciliation, the bread-and-butter NRI work.
Tax notice response
Section 148 reassessments, Section 143(1) intimations, AIS mismatches, demand notices. We respond with the right legal grounds before deadlines slip.
No treaty rate to chase. But there's real money in doing the rest right.
DR Congo NRIs we work with usually save more from a clean Form 13 + ITR than a treaty rate would have given them anyway. A CA who knows Democratic Republic of the Congo makes the difference.
Talk to a DR Congo-specialist CAWhat we still do
No treaty, no treaty rate. But plenty of real work.
Hypothetical example: Hiren, 44, from Rajkot, runs the Kinshasa branch of a pharmaceutical distributor and has lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for nine years. He holds ₹20L in Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) fixed deposits (FDs), ₹5L in NRO savings, and a ₹15L Indian mutual fund (MF) portfolio, redeeming ₹3L of units a year. Because there is no tax treaty, his bank deducts the default 30% tax deducted at source (TDS) on interest. His practical step in India is filing an annual income tax return (ITR) to refund TDS above his slab tax. From 2026, the DRC taxes that same interest too.
Clean ITR filing
Full schedules (FA, AL, NRI disclosures). Section 91 foreign tax credit claim for any DR Congotax you've paid on the same income. Done right, the first time.
Form 13 / Section 197
Selling property in India? A lower-TDS certificate drops your TDS from 12.5% of the full sale price down to the actual gain. On a ₹1 crore sale, that's often ₹15-20 lakh of cash-flow.
Tax notices, end-to-end
148, 143(1), 143(2), 245, 139(9). We draft the reply, file on the portal, attend the hearing, follow up to closure. Under Section 288 authorized representation.
Repatriation (15CA/15CB)
Moving money from India back to DR Congo. CA-signed 15CB, Part C filings, bank coordination. Nothing stuck, nothing rejected.
This is what a typical DR Congo NRI with Indian-national managers and professionals: ₹10-40L in NRO and NRE FDs, ₹5-20L in MFs, often a flat in Gujarat or Mumbai. Settled business families: larger NRO balances, ancestral property in India and Indian shares. actually needs, treaty or no treaty.
Your side of the process
How to get your Tax Residency Certificate
You're an Indian in DR Congo. India needs proof. Here's the workflow from DR Congo, documents, portal, timeline, the lot.
Who issues it
Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI)
What it costs
Not applicable, no treaty to claim
Timeline
Not applicable
Form 10F / Form 41
Not required
Step-by-step for Indians in Congo
Not needed. A tax residency certificate (TRC) and Form 41 (formerly Form 10F) exist only to claim treaty rates, and there is no India-DRC treaty, so your Indian bank will not ask for them. What matters on the DRC side is your registration with the DGI: individuals get a Numéro Impôt (NIF) through the DGI's e-NIF portal, and from 2026 you declare your worldwide income on the IRPP return. The DGI publishes no residence-certificate procedure, so ask your tax office if a foreign authority ever asks for one.
Don't want to deal with Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI) yourself? Our CAs handle TRC guidance for DR Congo NRIs every day.
Want a CA who handles DR Congo-India tax every week?
Free 15-minute call. We tell you what you can recover and what it takes.
Senior CA who specialises in NRI tax · we deal with the tax officer, you don't
Things DR Congo NRIs should know
Pitfalls we've seen Indians in Congo face
We work with the Indian community in the DRC every day. These are the traps that cost real money.
No treaty rate applies in India. The Income Tax Department lists no agreement of any kind with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Your bank deducts 30% on Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) interest and 20% on dividends, and no tax residency certificate (TRC) or Form 41 (formerly Form 10F) changes that.
Your Indian income is taxable in the DRC from 1 January 2026. Under Law 23/053, residents pay personal income tax (IRPP) on income from any source. Until 2025, DRC schedular taxes excluded Indian interest and dividends. Your first IRPP return, for 2026 income, is due by 30 April 2027.
Both countries can tax the same Indian interest. With no foreign tax credit article, ask the Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI) before filing if Article 121 deducts Indian tax deducted at source (TDS) from IRPP. In India, file an income tax return (ITR) to refund TDS above slab tax.
Non-Resident External (NRE) deposit interest is tax-free in India, yet taxable in the DRC. Article 78 taxes interest on deposits whatever the depositary, including NRE fixed deposits. Article 80 exempts savings account interest, though the law does not specify Indian accounts. Confirm with the DGI.
Selling Indian shares, fund units, or a flat faces 12.5% Indian long-term gains tax. Before property registration, get a Form 128 (formerly Form 13) certificate under Section 395 (formerly Section 197) to avoid full-price TDS. From 2026, the DRC taxes private gains (Article 82), exempting main residences (Article 83).
You must manage two tax calendars and filing deadlines. The DRC taxes the calendar year, with the IRPP return due by 30 April. India runs April to March, with the ITR due on 31 July. Keep Indian TDS certificates by date so each DRC return covers the right months.
Repatriating funds from India requires specific tax forms. You can send up to USD 1 million a financial year from NRO balances, property sale proceeds, or inheritances. Each taxable transfer needs Form 145 (formerly Form 15CA), plus a chartered accountant's Form 146 (formerly Form 15CB) above ₹5 lakh.
Congolese documents need legalisation, and pensions do not link. With the DRC outside the Hague Apostille Convention, ask the Indian bank or office which route it accepts. India's social security agreements cover 20 partners, excluding the DRC, so Congolese and Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) periods stay separate.
Questions from DR Congo NRIs
Everything Indians in Congo ask us
6+ answers. Hover on dotted terms for plain-English explanations.
The exceptions that change the answer
Where the general rule stops applying to you
Every rule below has a carve-out, a cut-off date or a condition that flips the answer. These are the ones that decide real cases.
NRO account: what it costs and what it caps
Right now: Interest taxed at 30% plus surcharge and cess; repatriation capped at USD 1 million a financial year
Where it works differently
- A TRC and Form 10F (Form 41 from 1 Apr 2026) are furnished
- The treaty rate applies to the interest, commonly 10-15% under Article 11 instead of 30% plus surcharge.
- s.90(2). This is the single largest recurring recovery item for most NRIs.
- Remitting out
- Form 15CA is needed, plus Form 15CB from a CA where the remittance is chargeable and above Rs 5 lakh in the year.
- Rule 37BB.
- Joint holders
- The USD 1 million ceiling is per person per financial year, so joint holders each have their own.
- FEMA 13(R).
Commonly got wrong
- NRO interest is taxed at 30%. Incomplete. Surcharge and 4% cess sit on top, and a treaty can cut it to 10-15%.30% plus surcharge and cess by default, but 10-15% under most treaties if you hold a TRC and file Form 10F.
Income-tax return due dates
Right now: 31 July (no business or professional income, e.g. ITR-1 and ITR-2) / 31 August (business or profession, accounts not audited) / 31 October (audit cases and companies) / 30 November (transfer pricing, s.92E)
Where it works differently
- AY 2026-27 audit case (Table sl. no. 2: companies and assessees whose accounts must be audited)
- The 31 October 2026 date was extended to 21 November 2026, and the tax audit report from 30 September to 21 October 2026. Non-audit and transfer-pricing dates were not extended.
- CBDT Circular 07/2026, 28 September 2026, F. No. 225/128/2026/ITA-II, https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/sites/default/files/2026-09/Circular-7-2026.pdf
- An NRI has business or professional income in India (for example a consultancy) but no audit
- The due date is 31 August from AY 2026-27, not 31 July. An NRI with only rent, interest and capital gains stays on 31 July.
- Finance Act 2026 Explanation 2 Table sl. no. 3 turns on business or profession income, not on the ITR form.
- CBDT extends the date
- Extensions are common and announced by press release. Never state a due date as immovable without checking the current year.
- Administrative practice.
- Carry-forward of losses is wanted
- The ORIGINAL return must be within s.139(1). A belated return forfeits the carry-forward of business, speculation and capital losses (house-property loss and unabsorbed depreciation still carry forward).
- s.80.
Commonly got wrong
- The deadline is always 31 July. It is frequently extended, and is 31 October for audit cases.State the base date and note that extensions happen.
- Every non-audit return is due on 31 July. From AY 2026-27 the Finance Act 2026 gave non-audit business and professional income a separate 31 August due date.For AY 2026-27 onwards the return is due on 31 July if you have no business income, and 31 August if you have business or professional income that is not audited.
EPF withdrawal exemption: continuous service
Right now: 5 years of continuous service
Where it works differently
- Service is under 5 years
- Four components are taxed separately: employer contribution and its interest as salary, employee contribution previously claimed under 80C reversed, and interest on employee contribution as other sources.
- Rule 8 of Part A of the Fourth Schedule.
- Employment ended for reasons beyond the employee's control
- The 5-year condition is relaxed.
- Proviso to Rule 8.
- The account is inoperative
- Interest continues to accrue and is taxable once the member leaves service.
- Settled position; a live issue for NRIs with dormant accounts.
Commonly got wrong
- EPF withdrawal is always tax-free. Only after 5 years of continuous service.An EPF withdrawal is tax-free only after five years of continuous service. Below five years, four separate components become taxable in different heads.
EPF interest that becomes taxable on high contributions
Right now: Interest on employee contributions above Rs 2,50,000 a year is taxable (Rs 5,00,000 where the employer makes no contribution)
Where it works differently
- The member is an NRI with a dormant account
- Interest continues to accrue, and an account becomes inoperative after 36 months without contribution, at which point the interest is taxable in India.
- EPF Scheme rules plus settled tax treatment.
- The member has left India
- Indian tax on that interest still applies as India-sourced income, and the residence country may tax it too.
- s.9 read with the relevant treaty.
Commonly got wrong
- All EPF interest is tax-free. Interest on employee contributions above Rs 2.5 lakh a year has been taxable since FY 2021-22.Interest is tax-free up to Rs 2.5 lakh of employee contribution a year (Rs 5 lakh where the employer does not contribute). Above that it is taxable.
No treaty. No shortcut.
Plenty we can still do.
ITR filing. Form 13 lower-TDS on property sales. Tax notices, repatriation, Section 91 unilateral relief. Your Indian tax life still needs a CA who knows Democratic Republic of the Congo.
More for Indians in Congo
Friends & neighbours
NRIs in nearby countries with similar DTAA benefits. Know someone? Share this.