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If you do not have any taxable income and do not have a PAN (Permanent Account Number), but you are planning to leave the country, then you will have to submit Form 157 certificate to the Income Tax (IT) department. This is a declaration form that is mandatory under the IT Act, 2025 (with some exceptions). It has replaced forms like Form 156 under the old tax system and its aim is to ensure better compliance by capturing information about passengers who are outside the tax net.
Under the old IT system, PAN was mandatory for submitting Form 156, which was required to be submitted by passengers leaving the country. While in the old system, Form 156 could be submitted on the e-filing portal of the IT department, under the IT Act, 2025, Form 157 can only be submitted manually. According to the IT Department, Form 157 is a certificate that has to be submitted by people living in India who are leaving India. It has to be deposited at the time of leaving the country.
These are those who do not have PAN, who do not have any taxable income, or who are not required to obtain PAN. The department said that Form 157 is mandatory, provided the government does not notify any exception from time to time. The IT department said that Form 157 is an event-based form and it is submitted every time the person concerned is leaving India. Thus, the frequency of depositing it depends on how often the person travels outside India.
What documents will be required to submit Form 157?
Passport or PAN of the person leaving India (if available)
In case of absence of passport, emergency certificate from the country issuing it
No need to provide Aadhaar information
There is no need to attach any kind of proof or other documents while submitting the form. The IT department said that Form 157 is a simple declaration in the form of a certificate, in which information about the person leaving India is given and it is certified that the person has no taxable income in India or is not required to obtain PAN. Providing information about tax payments is not a part of this form. There is no need to provide Aadhaar information, but according to the IT department, providing the mobile number makes communication and verification faster. The IT department has suggested that those who fill this form can provide information about their mobile number while filling the form.
The form cannot be processed online
This form cannot be processed online and can only be submitted manually by the person leaving India, and that too to his/her respective ‘Jurisdictional Assessing Officer’. Since ‘Form 157’ is manual, it can be corrected before submitting it to the ‘Assessing Officer’, and even later, by requesting for inclusion of the corrected form in the records.
