Why the bank asks for these two forms
An NRO account holds income that arose in India — rent, dividends, interest, sale proceeds, gifts. Some of it has already been taxed, some of it may still owe tax, and the bank has no way of telling which by looking at the balance. So before it lets money cross into an NRE account (which is meant to hold only money on which India's claim is settled) or out of the country, it asks for proof that the tax side is clean.
That proof comes in two parts. Form 15CB is a certificate signed by a practising chartered accountant. The CA examines where the money came from, decides whether any tax is payable on it, and certifies that the right amount has been deducted or already paid. Form 15CA is your own declaration, filed online with the income tax department, which repeats the key facts and quotes the 15CB. The bank keeps copies of both on file as its record that it did not move untaxed money out of India.
| Form | Who signs it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Form 15CB | A practising CA | Certifies the tax on the funds is settled |
| Form 15CA | You (the remitter) | Declares the remittance, quotes the 15CB |
Not every transfer needs a 15CB — small or clearly tax-paid remittances can sometimes use a lighter part of Form 15CA on their own. But for an NRO-to-NRE move of any size, most banks insist on the CA certificate, because it is the document that protects them.
The USD 1 million a year limit, and what it covers
Under the RBI's FEMA rules, an NRI can remit up to USD 1 million per financial year out of the balances held in their NRO account — and the same ceiling covers sale proceeds of property and the value of inherited assets routed through the NRO account. The limit runs by financial year (April to March), not by calendar year, and it is per person, so a couple holding money separately effectively has two separate ceilings.
The USD 1 million is a remittance ceiling, not a tax allowance. Staying inside it does not make the money tax-free; the tax still has to be settled, which is exactly what the 15CB certifies. Equally, paying the tax does not waive the ceiling — both have to be satisfied. Funds already lying in an NRE or FCNR account are freely repatriable and sit outside this limit; the USD 1 million route is specifically about getting money out of NRO and into a freely repatriable form.
If your transfer for the year is heading toward the ceiling, the timing matters — splitting a large remittance across two financial years is a normal way to stay within the route. The CA who prepares your 15CB will usually flag where you stand against the limit so the bank does not bounce the request.
A worked example: clearing two years of rent
Anita lives in Singapore and rents out a flat in Bengaluru. Over two years the rent — net of the tenant's TDS — has built up to about ₹38 lakh in her NRO account, and she now wants it in her NRE account so she can move it to Singapore freely.
Her chartered accountant first checks the source: this is rental income, so the question is whether the rental tax for those years is fully settled. The tenant deducted TDS, and Anita filed her returns, so the CA confirms the income is accounted for and the right tax has been paid. On that basis the CA issues a Form 15CB describing the funds as post-tax rental income and certifying the tax position. Anita then files Form 15CA online, quoting the certificate.
At roughly ₹38 lakh, the transfer is comfortably under the USD 1 million ceiling for the year, so a single remittance works — no need to split it. She hands the bank the 15CB and the 15CA acknowledgement, and the funds move from NRO to NRE. Had the rent been larger, say ₹70 lakh, the CA would have checked the running total against the ceiling and, if needed, staged part of it into the next financial year.