A certificate of origin in India is the document that proves where goods were made, and it decides whether an importer can claim the lower customs duty agreed under a trade agreement. Importers produce it at the time of filing the Bill of Entry to claim that rate. Exporters obtain
If your business is outside India and you sell digital services to Indian consumers, India expects you to register for GST and file a monthly return. There is no turnover threshold to cross first. The obligation starts at the first sale. This is the registration walkthrough and the filing cycle,
If your business pays a foreign company for software, consultancy, royalties or technical services, you deduct tax before you remit. Form 27Q is the quarterly return where you report that deduction. From the 2026 tax year it is called Form 144. The form is the same job under a new
Every foreign currency payment that crosses an Indian bank carries a five character purpose code. Your bank puts it on the transaction whether you choose it or not, and it is the single field that decides how RBI classifies your money in India's balance of payments. Here is
A merchant of record is the legal entity that sells to your customer. It takes the payment, appears on the card statement, carries the chargeback, and owes the sales tax. Most software companies use one so they can sell into forty countries without registering in forty countries. India splits that
Section 195 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 required you to deduct tax at source before paying a non-resident anything chargeable to tax in India. That obligation still exists. The section number does not. For any payment where the earlier of credit or payment falls on or after 1
Customs duty is the tax Indian Customs charges on goods crossing the border. On imports you pay it before your cargo is released, no payment, no Out of Charge, no delivery. It is calculated on the assessable value of the shipment, not the invoice value, and it is almost never
Form 15CA is the declaration you file before sending money out of India to a non-resident. Form 15CB is the chartered accountant's certificate that supports it when the payment is taxable and crosses ₹5 lakh in a tax year. Together they are how the Income Tax Department
A merchanting trade transaction is a trade where an Indian entity buys goods from a seller in one foreign country and sells them to a buyer in another foreign country, with the goods shipping directly between those two countries and never entering India's Domestic Tariff Area. The Indian
OPGSP stands for Online Payment Gateway Service Provider, the arrangement that let Indian exporters and importers collect and send small cross-border payments through an intermediary tied to a bank, rather than through their own wire transfer. It was never a licence. An OPGSP held no authorisation from the Reserve
This week’s trade landscape is dominated by heightening geopolitical tensions in the West and significant domestic policy shifts aimed at digitizing MSME global outreach. From potential tariff wars to new financial support missions, Indian exporters must navigate a complex mix of rising logistics costs and improved regulatory frameworks. 1.
A high sea sale is the sale of imported goods while they are still in transit, after the shipment has left the foreign port and before it is cleared for home consumption in India. Ownership passes by endorsing the bill of lading to the new buyer, who then becomes the