Colón built your business. Your Indian savings need care.
Because India and Panama have no tax treaty, banks deduct 30% tax deducted at source (TDS) on Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) interest and 20% on dividends. Panama taxes only Panama-source income, leaving Indian interest, dividends, rent and gains untaxed there. An Indian return recovers TDS above your slab tax, Form 128 (formerly Form 13) lowers TDS before a property sale, and Form 145/146 (formerly 15CA/15CB) clears NRO transfers.
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 15,173 (MEA, January 2026: 4,000 NRIs and 11,173 PIOs)
Indians in Panama
Senior CAs handle your whole India tax side, filing, recovery, notices, property, repatriation. No India trip needed.
Not just DTAA
Chartered Accountants for Panama 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 Panama NRIs, filing, property, tax notices, repatriation and more, all from Panama 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 Panama have no treaty. Your Indian tax life still needs a CA.
Panama taxes territorially. Individuals pay income tax only on Panamanian-source income at 0% up to USD 11,000, 15% up to USD 50,000 and 25% above. Regardless of residence or nationality, Panama leaves Indian interest, dividends, rent and capital gains untaxed. With no Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) or tax information exchange agreement, default Indian tax deducted at source (TDS) is 30% on Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) interest and 20% on dividends. With no Panama tax credit, file an Indian income tax return (ITR) to recover TDS above slab tax. Non-Resident External (NRE) interest stays exempt in India and Panama.
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.
Panama 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 Panama makes the difference.
Talk to a Panama-specialist CAWhat we still do
No treaty, no treaty rate. But plenty of real work.
Hypothetical example: Rakesh, 46, is an Indian citizen from a Sindhi trading family who lives in Panama City and runs an electronics wholesale business in the Colón Free Zone. He keeps ₹20L in Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) fixed deposits (FDs), ₹4L in NRO savings, and a ₹15L Indian mutual fund (MF) portfolio from which he redeems ₹3L of units each year. Because there is no treaty, his Indian bank deducts 30% tax deducted at source (TDS) on the interest. Panama does not tax these earnings, so Rakesh files an Indian income tax return (ITR) to recover the TDS above his slab tax.
Clean ITR filing
Full schedules (FA, AL, NRI disclosures). Section 91 foreign tax credit claim for any Panamatax 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 Panama. CA-signed 15CB, Part C filings, bank coordination. Nothing stuck, nothing rejected.
This is what a typical Panama NRI with Trading families: ₹20-60L in NRO and NRE FDs, sometimes a family flat in Gujarat or Mumbai, and occasional inherited property. Younger professionals: ₹5-15L in mutual funds and NRE deposits fed by dollar savings. actually needs, treaty or no treaty.
Your side of the process
How to get your Tax Residency Certificate
You're an Indian in Panama. India needs proof. Here's the workflow from Panama, documents, portal, timeline, the lot.
Who issues it
Dirección General de Ingresos (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 Panama
Not needed for Indian TDS. A tax residency certificate (TRC) and Form 41 (formerly Form 10F) exist only to claim treaty rates, and there is no India-Panama treaty, so your Indian bank will not ask for them. If another country or bank asks for proof of Panama tax residence, the Dirección General de Ingresos (DGI) issues a Certificado de Residencia Fiscal. Since Resolution 201-8433 of 18 November 2022, individuals must attach the original certificate of entries and exits issued by the Servicio Nacional de Migración. The usual test is more than 183 days in Panama in the year.
Don't want to deal with Dirección General de Ingresos (DGI) yourself? Our CAs handle TRC guidance for Panama NRIs every day.
Want a CA who handles Panama-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 Panama NRIs should know
Pitfalls we've seen Indians in Panama face
We work with the Indian community in Panama every day. These are the traps that cost real money.
Plan for default Indian bank deductions. The Income Tax Department lists no Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) or tax information exchange agreement with Panama. Banks deduct 30% on Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) interest and 20% on dividends. A tax residency certificate (TRC) or Form 41 (formerly Form 10F) changes nothing.
File an Indian income tax return (ITR) every year to recover tax deducted at source (TDS) above your Indian slab tax. Because Panama's territorial system leaves Indian interest, dividends, rent and gains untaxed, no Panama return exists to credit Indian TDS against.
Review Panamanian companies. From fiscal year 2027, Law 526 of 28 May 2026 taxes multinational group entities (like a Colón Free Zone trading company with an Indian affiliate) 15% on exempt foreign dividends, interest and capital gains without adequate economic substance in Panama. Personal shares and deposits are unaffected.
Declare your Indian income accurately in India. Even without a bilateral treaty, India (since 1 June 2012) and Panama (from 1 July 2017) belong to the OECD Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, so the two tax departments can exchange information on request.
Get a lower deduction certificate on Form 128 (formerly Form 13) under Section 395 (formerly Section 197) before registering an Indian flat sale from Panama City. Buyers then deduct TDS on your actual gain rather than full price. Panama leaves the gain untaxed, and neither country has inheritance tax.
Use Form 145 (formerly Form 15CA) to transfer Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) funds to Panama, adding a chartered accountant (CA) certificate on Form 146 (formerly Form 15CB) for taxable amounts above ₹5 lakh. Up to USD 1 million a financial year can leave NRO balances, property sale proceeds or inheritances.
Apostille a Panamanian power of attorney or death certificate for use in India under the Hague Apostille Convention (Panama since 4 August 1991, India since 14 July 2005). India's 20 social security agreements exclude Panama, so Panamanian social security and Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) periods stay separate.
Track two different tax calendars. Panama uses a calendar tax year with returns for Panamanian-source income due by 15 March, while India's April to March return is due 31 July. Employees earning only salary taxed monthly by their employer generally need not file a Panama return.
Questions from Panama NRIs
Everything Indians in Panama 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.
Power of Attorney executed abroad: the stamping clock
Right now: Stamped in India within 3 months of receipt in India
Where it works differently
- The country is a Hague Apostille Convention member
- Notarise locally, then apostille. Otherwise it needs attestation by the Indian mission.
- Two different routes; using the wrong one means a rejected document at the sub-registrar.
- The 3 months lapse
- Penalty stamping is required and the document may be questioned. Sub-registrars do check the receipt date.
- Indian Stamp Act.
- The PoA is meant to transfer the property itself
- It cannot. A GPA does not convey title, per Suraj Lamp (SC, 2011). A PoA authorises someone to ACT for you, not to receive your property.
- The commonest and costliest misunderstanding.
Commonly got wrong
- A PoA can be used to sell the property to the holder. Suraj Lamp held GPA sales convey nothing. A PoA lets an agent act for you; it does not transfer ownership to them.A Power of Attorney lets someone sign on your behalf. It does not transfer the property to them. Only a registered sale deed does that.
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 Panama.
More for Indians in Panama
Friends & neighbours
NRIs in nearby countries with similar DTAA benefits. Know someone? Share this.