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Nigeria NRIs · NRO TDS Recovery

NRO account TDS recovery for NRIs in Nigeria

Your Indian bank deducts tax on NRO interest at the full non-resident rate, and no India-Nigeria treaty exists to cap it. A lower-deduction certificate and your return are how you get it back.

If you live in Nigeria and hold an NRO deposit in India, your bank deducts tax at source on the interest at 30%, the full default non-resident rate under Section 393(2) (Section 195 until 31 March 2026). India and Nigeria never signed a tax treaty, so there is no treaty rate to bring anything down to. That means Form 41 (formerly Form 10F) and a Tax Residency Certificate will not move that 30%, whatever a local advisor tells you, and it isn't worth paying for one on that promise. Two things do work. A lower-deduction certificate on Form 128 tells the bank to deduct less where your real liability is lower, and your return recovers whatever has already gone, because NRO interest is ordinary slab income. Relief for that interest being taxed again in Nigeria has to come from the local rules there, because no treaty obliges it.
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India-Nigeria key facts: nro tds recovery

India's default non-resident rate of 30% applies here with nothing to claim it down to.

A Form 128 certificate and your return are the levers. A residence certificate from the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS, formerly FIRS) is worth having for the Nigeria side, where your own domestic relief rules are the only thing that can soften the Indian tax.

This is India's domestic withholding under Section 393(2) (Section 195 until 31 March 2026). There is no India-Nigeria treaty to modify it. 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 Nigeria

Nigeria taxes your Indian income and gains too, and on some of it a remittance rule cancels the Nigerian tax. Section 12 of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, in force since 1 January 2026, makes a resident's income and gains chargeable wherever they arise, even if the cash never leaves your NRO account. The relief runs backwards: section 163 exempts foreign dividend, interest, rent and royalty, but only if you bring it into Nigeria through approved channels. Leave it parked in India and the exemption goes, and section 120 then credits the Indian tax you paid, capped at the Nigerian tax on it. That remittance route never covers gains, so an Indian flat or share sale is chargeable under section 34 wherever the asset sits, and the N150 million threshold only shelters shares in a Nigerian company. Section 51 exempts one dwelling-house once in your life, and a flat you rent out rarely qualifies.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions from Nigerian Indians

30% under Section 393(2), the full non-resident rate, and no treaty caps it lower for Nigerian Indians. A Tax Residency Certificate won't change that, because there is no treaty rate behind it. A lower-deduction certificate can, and so can your return.

Yes, by filing your Indian return, and the absence of a treaty changes nothing about that. NRO interest is slab income, the bank deducted a flat 30%, and if your Indian income sat in a lower slab or below the basic exemption limit, the difference is refundable with Section 244A interest. A treaty only decides the rate you compute against. For Nigerian Indians that's the slab table.

Not the treaty pair. Form 41 and a Tax Residency Certificate only unlock a treaty rate, and with no India-Nigeria treaty behind them your bank has no lower rate to apply. What does work at the bank is a lower-deduction certificate: you apply on Form 128 under Section 395 (the old Form 13 under Section 197) through TRACES, and where your estimated Indian tax for the year is below the 30% being deducted, the Assessing Officer can certify a lower or nil rate. Alongside it, keep your PAN linked to every NRO account so the TDS lands in your Form 26AS, and keep each deposit's interest certificate for the return.

Go further

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

NRI ITR filing and TDS refund serviceNigeria NRI tax guide: every income type and the rates that apply

NRO TDS Recovery sorted, by an Indian CA who works with Nigerian Indians

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