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Malaysia NRIs · NRO TDS Recovery

NRO account TDS recovery for NRIs in Malaysia

Your Indian bank deducts tax on NRO interest at the full non-resident rate. The India-Malaysia treaty lets you bring it down and reclaim the excess.

If you live in Malaysia and hold an NRO fixed deposit or savings account in India, your bank deducts tax at source on the interest at 30%, the default non-resident rate under Section 393(2) (Section 195 until 31 March 2026). The India-Malaysia tax treaty caps that interest withholding at 10% (Article 11), so for most Malaysian NRIs the gap between the two is over-withheld tax you're entitled to recover. To claim the lower rate you file Form 41, which replaced Form 10F on 1 April 2026, backed by a Tax Residency Certificate from your country of residence. Anything already over-deducted comes back as a refund when you file your Indian return.
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India-Malaysia key facts: nro tds recovery

Default non-resident TDS rate30%
India-Malaysia DTAA treaty rate10%
Your saving via the treaty20%
Treaty article / basisArticle 11: 10% with TRC + Form 10F
Your TRC issuing authorityLHDN (Inland Revenue Board)

Rates reflect India's domestic withholding under Section 393(2) (Section 195 until 31 March 2026) and the India-Malaysia treaty. Surcharge and cess apply on top where relevant.

How it works on the India side

Indian banks deduct TDS on NRO interest at the 30% non-resident rate plus surcharge and cess, under Section 393(2) (Section 195 until 31 March 2026). Where India has a treaty with your country that caps interest lower, Form 41 (formerly Form 10F) and a Tax Residency Certificate lodged with the bank get you that capped rate on future interest. Where there is no treaty, there is nothing to claim down to, so the same paperwork changes nothing and the 30% stands.

A lower-deduction certificate is the one piece of paperwork that works at the bank either way. You apply on Form 128 under Section 395 (the old Form 13 under Section 197) through the TRACES portal, and it is open to non-residents on interest. Where your estimated Indian tax for the year is below what the bank is deducting, the Assessing Officer can certify a lower or nil rate, which the bank then applies to future interest.

The refund route is the same either way, and it's your Indian return. The bank's TDS shows against your PAN in Form 26AS and the AIS, you work out what you actually owe (the treaty rate where one applies, otherwise your slab rate, because NRO interest is ordinary slab income), and the excess comes back with interest under Section 244A. Years you never filed can often still be reached: CBDT Circular 11/2024 lets you apply for condonation under Section 119(2)(b) of the 1961 Act, the law that governs the years you're reclaiming, up to five years from the end of that assessment year, though a refund allowed that way carries no Section 244A interest.

What changes because you live in Malaysia

Malaysia won't tax this a second time. As a resident individual you're exempt on foreign income you bring into Malaysia, and P.U.(A) 451/2024 pushed that exemption from the end of 2026 out to 31 December 2036. The condition is that the income was taxed where it arose, and the Indian tax deducted at source satisfies it. LHDN also accepts the test as met where India charged nothing because the income sat below a threshold, and foreign capital gains sit outside the Malaysian net for individuals anyway. Then comes the trap. Your Malaysian tax on all of this is nil, and Schedule 7 caps any foreign tax credit at the Malaysian tax on that same income. So Indian tax on your interest, dividends, rent, equity gains and property gains earns you nothing back in Malaysia. Keep every Indian deduction certificate, because LHDN can ask you to prove the income was taxed in India.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions from Malaysian NRIs

By default your bank deducts 30% under Section 393(2), the non-resident rate. With a valid Form 41 and a Tax Residency Certificate from LHDN (Inland Revenue Board), the India-Malaysia treaty brings that down to 10% on the interest. Anything deducted above the treaty rate before your paperwork was on file can be reclaimed through your Indian return.

Yes. The over-withheld amount is reclaimed by filing your Indian income tax return: the bank's TDS shows against your PAN in Form 26AS, you compute the tax actually due at the 10% treaty rate, and the excess is refunded with Section 244A interest.

Two documents: a Tax Residency Certificate issued by LHDN (Inland Revenue Board), and Form 41, the successor to Form 10F, filed on the Indian e-filing portal. Together they tell your bank to apply the India-Malaysia treaty rate of 10% instead of the 30% default. The TRC has to be renewed for each period it covers, otherwise the bank reverts to the full rate.

Go further

Read the full guide, or see your country's complete picture

DTAA TDS recovery serviceMalaysia NRI tax guide: every income type and the rates that apply

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