P1015 Purpose Code: Tax consulting services

Purpose code P1015 is used when an Indian tax adviser receives payment from an overseas client for tax consulting work.

What is the P1015 purpose code?

Purpose code P1015 covers money an Indian tax adviser receives from a client abroad for tax consulting. The point to be aware of before adopting it is that tax consulting is also named inside another code in this group, which covers accounting, auditing, bookkeeping and tax consulting together. The same service therefore appears in two places, and the descriptions do not say which applies to whom. A reasonable reading is that the combined code covers tax work provided alongside accounting services while this one covers standalone tax consulting, but that is a reading rather than a rule. Under RBI FEMA guidelines, this inward payment is classified under Other Business Services and reported accordingly.

When to use P1015 purpose code?

Use P1015 when an overseas client pays you for tax consulting delivered from India. Before standardising on it, confirm with your bank whether your receipts belong here or under the combined accounting and tax code, since tax consulting is named in both and only your bank can tell you which it expects. That check matters more than usual on this code, because getting it wrong is not a matter of misdescribing your service but of choosing between two codes that both describe it accurately.

When to use a different code:

• Use P1005 when your bank treats your tax work as part of accounting, auditing and bookkeeping services rather than standalone tax consulting
• Use P1004 when the work is legal services rather than tax advice
• Use the matching S-code when you are paying a foreign vendor rather than receiving money

Who typically uses P1015 purpose code

Indian tax advisers and consultants billing clients abroad, including practitioners advising on cross-border tax positions, transfer pricing and international tax structuring. It applies whether you invoice as an individual practitioner, a proprietorship, or a registered firm.

Examples of transactions covered under P1015 purpose code

• Fees received from an overseas client for tax advice provided from India
• Payment for advising a foreign business on its Indian tax position
• Retainer from an international client for ongoing tax consulting
• Fees for a transfer pricing or international tax structuring engagement

When NOT to use P1015 purpose code

• Your bank treats your tax work as part of accounting, auditing and bookkeeping services (use P1005)
• The work is legal services rather than tax advice (use P1004)
• The work is business or management consultancy rather than tax consulting (use P1006)
• You are paying a foreign vendor rather than receiving (use the matching S-code)

Documents required for P1015 purpose code

To receive a payment under P1015, keep the following documents ready so your bank or platform can verify the transaction and report it correctly under FEMA.

How is a P1015 Purpose Code declared?

Declaring the code is pretty straightforward. Here's how the payment gets tagged and reported.

1. Confirm the code with your bank: Establish whether your tax receipts should carry P1015 or the combined accounting and tax code.
2. Raise your invoice: Bill your overseas client for the tax consulting work, describing the advice at a level your engagement allows.
3. Receive the payment: The client sends the money to your bank or receiving account.
4. Declare the purpose: State the purpose of the inward remittance, on your bank's form or through your platform.
5. Get your FIRA: Once processed, your FIRA is issued as proof and the payment is reported under FEMA.
6. With a traditional bank you handle each step of your payment journey. But with a platform built for cross-border payments, you can preselect a default purpose code so that the payments land smooth.

Common mistakes to avoid while using P1015 purpose code

A few common slips can hold up your payment or cause compliance issues. Here's what to watch for.

1. Choosing between the two tax codes without asking: Adopting P1015 or P1005 by reading the descriptions, when tax consulting is named in both and only your bank can tell you which it expects for your practice.
2. Switching between them across payments: Using one code on some receipts and the other on others, which leaves your reporting inconsistent even where each individual choice is defensible.
3. Code and invoice mismatch: The code not matching what your engagement letter describes, which flags the payment.
4. Incomplete documents: Missing the invoice or engagement letter, so the bank cannot establish what the work was and holds funds until provided.
5. Missing PAN or KYC: Incomplete verification stops the bank from releasing the payment.
6. Using an inward code for an outward payment: Applying a receipt code to money you're sending out instead of the matching outward code.

How Skydo simplifies inward remittance under P1015 Purpose Code

With a bank, you declare the purpose code on your own for every single payment. With Skydo, you can preselect your code once and every payment gets tagged automatically.

1. Preselect the code once: Set P1015 as your default and Skydo tags every incoming payment for you, so there's no form to fill on each one.
2. No repeat declarations: A bank makes you restate the purpose for every remittance. Skydo does it in the background, the same way each time.
3. Instant, free FIRA: Your remittance proof is generated and stored on every payment, ready for your CA, GST, and audits, with no request and no fee.
4. Zero FX markup: You get the live mid-market rate with a flat, visible fee, instead of a markup hidden inside the bank's rate.
5. Settled in 24 hours: Your payment reaches your Indian bank within a day, fully reported and compliant.