Paid from abroad? Keep every payment on the right side of FEMA.
Designers, developers, writers, tutors, consultants — if clients abroad pay you, your bank wants the right purpose code, a FIRA for each payment and, from October 2026, a monthly declaration. FxLayer handles that with your PAN alone: no GST registration, no IEC, no accountant needed to get started.
Illustrative record. You type what the work was; the code follows.
Four steps, each one short
Sign up with your PAN
Choose “A freelancer or consultant”, give your PAN and say you are not registered under GST. Nothing else is asked until it is needed.
Make the invoice
Pick the kind of work — software, design, writing, teaching — and the invoice gets the SAC, the purpose code and the right wording. No GST, no LUT.
Record the payment
Into your bank or through a payment platform: add the reference and the FIRA or e-FIRA, and it links to the invoice it pays.
Stay ahead of the dates
The monthly EDF if your bank asks for it, advance tax instalments, and a register of foreign income for your tax return.
Say what the work was. The code follows.
Every payment from abroad carries an RBI purpose code, and the wrong one can delay the FIRA or send the money to the wrong head in your bank's records. FxLayer has the full RBI list, but you never have to read it: choose the kind of work or type it in plain words — “logo”, “tuition”, “app” — and the right code is chosen.
- Every current RBI code, inward and outward, with plain-language names
- A caution where a code is often misused, like salary or personal transfers
- The SAC code for the invoice comes with it
| Your work | Code | SAC |
|---|---|---|
| Software, apps and websites | P0802 | 998314 |
| IT support, hosting and data work | P0803 | 998315 |
| Marketing, ads and SEO | P1007 | 998361 |
| Consulting and management | P1006 | 998311 |
| Video, audio and animation | P1101 | 999613 |
| Teaching, tutoring and training | P1107 | 999293 |
| Accounting, bookkeeping and tax | P1005 | 998222 |
| Engineering and architecture | P1014 | 998331 |
| Royalties and licences (photos, music, IP) | P0902 | 997339 |
| Design, writing and other services | P1099 | 998391 / 998399 |
What applies to you, and what FxLayer does about it
GST: register only past the threshold
Below ₹20 lakh of turnover in a year (₹10 lakh in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura) you need not register — and payments from abroad count towards it. FxLayer adds up what you invoice and warns you as you near it.
Invoices without GST
Not registered means no tax invoice and no LUT. Your invoice is a plain invoice with your PAN and a line saying you are not registered under GST — FxLayer writes that for you.
No IEC for services
The Import Export Code is for goods. As a services-only freelancer you are known by your PAN on every invoice, letter and report.
Payment platforms
Money through a platform is still a payment from abroad. Record the platform, its reference and its fee; the e-FIRA takes the place of the bank's FIRA. One export payment through a platform can be up to ₹25 lakh.
The monthly EDF
From 1 October 2026 service exports are declared to the bank each month. RBI has indicated that individuals need not file it — until its FAQs confirm that, ask your bank. FxLayer prepares the EDF, or records the bank's answer.
Income tax
Foreign income is taxed like any other. FxLayer keeps a register of what you received, by month and client, and puts the advance tax dates — 15 June, 15 September, 15 December, 15 March — on your calendar.
Freelancers ask
Your next payment from abroad, recorded right
Sign up with your PAN in two minutes. Your first invoice, payment and purpose code are guided step by step.