Form A2 is the declaration a resident of India must submit to an authorized dealer bank before any outward remittance leaves the country, and since a 2024 Reserve Bank of India directive, banks must collect it for every cross-border transfer regardless of amount. It captures who is sending money, to whom, in what currency, and for what purpose, and it binds you to a legal declaration that the funds will not be used for anything prohibited under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. Getting the form or its supporting documents wrong can freeze your transfer or expose you to FEMA penalties.
When Form A2 Applies
Every time you send money outside India. There is no minimum threshold anymore. University tuition, a medical bill overseas, a gift to a relative abroad, a property payment, a business import: all of it flows through Form A2.
For resident individuals, the enabling framework is the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), which allows you (including minors) to remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year, April through March, for any permitted current or capital account transaction.1Reserve Bank of India. Liberalised Remittance Scheme Businesses making payments abroad also file Form A2, but their transactions sit under separate FEMA rules rather than the LRS.
What the LRS Will Not Let You Send
The USD 250,000 ceiling is wide, but the RBI blocks several categories outright. No form fixes these:
- Lottery tickets and sweepstakes purchases abroad.
- Margins or margin calls to overseas exchanges or counterparties.
- Trading in foreign exchange abroad.
- Buying Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds issued by Indian companies on overseas secondary markets.
- Capital account transfers to countries the Financial Action Task Force has flagged as non-cooperative.
- Remittances to individuals or entities the RBI has identified as terrorism risks.
Attempting any of these is a FEMA contravention even if the paperwork is otherwise clean.1Reserve Bank of India. Liberalised Remittance Scheme
Documents You Need Before You Start
Assemble everything before opening the form. Missing items are the single biggest reason banks hold transfers.
A valid PAN is mandatory for every LRS remittance. The bank uses it to link the transfer to your tax profile and to check you haven’t crossed the USD 250,000 annual ceiling.1Reserve Bank of India. Liberalised Remittance Scheme You’ll also need the beneficiary’s full name, address, and IBAN or SWIFT/BIC code.
On top of that, the purpose has to be documented:
- Education: university admission letter, fee invoice, or I-20/CAS letter.
- Medical treatment: hospital estimate or billing statement.
- Gift: a signed gift deed naming the recipient and amount.
- Property purchase: sale agreement or title document.
- Travel: visa copy, itinerary, or travel agent confirmation.
Banks retain these on file and the RBI can audit them. Inflating or fabricating documents doesn’t just risk rejection; it is a FEMA violation on its own.
Picking the Right Purpose Code
Every outward remittance carries an alphanumeric purpose code from a list the RBI publishes, and this is how the central bank tracks why forex is leaving the country.2Reserve Bank of India. New Purpose Codes for Reporting Forex Transactions A few that come up often:
- S0305: travel for education, including fees and hostel expenses.
- S1107: education fees for correspondence courses abroad.
- S0301: business travel.
- S0304: travel for medical treatment.
The distinction matters. Physically traveling abroad to study is S0305; paying for a correspondence course without traveling is S1107. A mismatched code may not block the transfer, but it creates an inconsistency in the RBI’s records that can complicate later remittances or draw audit questions.2Reserve Bank of India. New Purpose Codes for Reporting Forex Transactions
Filling and Signing the Form
You can access Form A2 through your authorized dealer bank’s online remittance portal or download the PDF from the RBI website.3Reserve Bank of India. Form A2 – Application for Remittance Abroad Enter your personal details exactly as they appear on your PAN card. Minor spelling differences between the form and your bank record can trigger a hold.
Fill in the currency, the amount in both figures and words, the beneficiary’s banking details, the authorized dealer bank and branch handling the transaction, and the purpose code you settled on earlier.
The declaration section is the legally binding part. You confirm that the funds are yours and that they will not be used for anything prohibited or restricted under the LRS.1Reserve Bank of India. Liberalised Remittance Scheme You sign on paper or authenticate digitally through the bank’s portal. A false statement here is a FEMA contravention. Check every field before submitting. Reversing a transaction because of data errors on Form A2 is slow and can cost you.
Tax Collected at Source on the Remittance
Your bank will debit more than the amount you’re sending, and this is why. Under Section 206C(1G) of the Income Tax Act, the authorized dealer bank must collect TCS on outward LRS remittances. The Finance Act 2026 revised the rates, effective April 1, 2026.4Income Tax Department. Tax Collection at Source (TCS) The current structure:
- Education funded by a loan from a financial institution: no TCS at any amount.
- Education, medical treatment, or travel for either: no TCS up to ₹10 lakh in aggregate per financial year; 2% above that.
- All other LRS purposes: no TCS up to ₹10 lakh in aggregate per financial year; 20% above that.
- Overseas tour packages: 2% on every remittance, no threshold.
The ₹10 lakh threshold is cumulative across all your LRS remittances during the year, not per transaction. Send ₹8 lakh for education in June and ₹5 lakh for a property investment in October, and TCS on the second transfer applies to the portion exceeding ₹10 lakh in total. If your PAN is not linked to Aadhaar, higher rates apply.
TCS is not lost money. It’s a prepayment of your income tax, claimable as credit when you file your return, and refundable if it exceeds your actual liability. But it hits your cash flow the day you remit, so plan for it.
When You Also Need Form 15CA and 15CB
Form A2 handles the foreign exchange side. Forms 15CA and 15CB handle the income tax side and apply when a payment to a non-resident is chargeable to tax in India.
Form 15CA is filed online through the Income Tax Department’s e-filing portal before you remit. It has four parts, and which one you complete depends on the nature and size of the payment. Aggregate remittances up to ₹5 lakh in the financial year use Part A, which is straightforward. Once you cross ₹5 lakh, you generally need a Chartered Accountant’s certificate in Form 15CB before completing Part C of Form 15CA. If the payment isn’t taxable at all, Part D applies.5Income Tax Department. Form 15CA FAQs
Form 15CA is not required for individual remittances that don’t need prior RBI approval and fall within specified purpose codes, so most routine LRS transfers for education, travel, or family maintenance are exempt. Payments to a foreign company for services, or rent on an overseas property, usually trigger both forms.
If You’re an NRI Remitting From an NRO Account
The LRS is only for resident individuals. If you’re a Non-Resident Indian or a Person of Indian Origin remitting from a Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) account, a separate framework governs you: up to USD 1 million per financial year from the balance or from sale proceeds of Indian assets.6Reserve Bank of India. Master Circular on Remittance Facilities for Non-Resident Indians / Persons of Indian Origin / Foreign Nationals
Documentation is heavier. You’ll need an undertaking and a Chartered Accountant’s certificate in the format prescribed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, confirming applicable taxes have been paid or provided for. Form A2 is still part of the file, but the CA certificate usually drives the timeline.
Penalties for Getting It Wrong
FEMA enforcement is real. Under Section 13, contravening any provision of the Act or a rule, regulation, or direction issued under it carries a penalty of up to three times the amount involved where the amount is quantifiable, or up to ₹2 lakh where it isn’t. Continuing violations carry an additional penalty of up to ₹5,000 per day after the first day.7India Code. Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 – Section 13
Typical triggers: remitting more than USD 250,000 in a financial year without RBI approval, using false documentation, sending money for a prohibited purpose, or skipping Form A2 altogether. Once you’ve used your LRS limit for the year, any further remittance needs prior RBI approval. Splitting transactions across multiple banks to dodge the ceiling does not work, because every authorized dealer reports to the same RBI database keyed to your PAN.