RBI purpose code · Money paid abroad (outward)

S0807: Off-site software imports (electronically delivered licences)

Short answer. S0807 is the RBI purpose code for money paid abroad: off-site software imports (electronically delivered licences). It goes on Form A2 with Form 145. For income tax it is a software licence or subscription: royalty under the Act but not under a treaty, so nothing is withheld with the treaty papers. GST is paid under reverse charge at 18%.

Direction
Money paid abroad (outward)
RBI head
08 · Software, IT, telecom and information
Bank application
Form A2
Form 145 / 146
Part D with the treaty papers; otherwise Part A or C at the Act rate.
Income tax
Software / SaaS
GST
Reverse charge 18%
Reporting
Form A2 · Form 145
In FxLayer
A service: links to service invoices.

When to use S0807

Use S0807 for money paid abroad: off-site software imports (electronically delivered licences). It sits under RBI head 08, software, IT, telecom and information.

Choose the code for what you are buying. The code decides the tax nature below, so a wrong code can mean the wrong rate of tax or a missing Form 145.

The same purpose in the other direction is P0807: Off-site software exports (SOFTEX / EDF) (money received).

Form A1 or Form A2

Form A2: the application for every payment abroad other than for goods imported into India. With it go the invoice, the agreement or purchase order and, unless the code is on the specified list, the Form 145 acknowledgement (and Form 146 for Part C).

Income tax

A software licence, SaaS or cloud subscription. Under the Act a licence to use software is royalty; under a tax treaty it is not, following Engineering Analysis Centre of Excellence v CIT (Supreme Court, 2021), because no copyright passes to the user. With the payee's treaty papers (TRC, Form 41 and a no-permanent-establishment declaration) nothing is withheld and Form 145 Part D is filed. Without them the Act rate applies: 20% plus surcharge and 4% cess (20.8% when there is no surcharge).

Form 145 / 146: Part D with the treaty papers; otherwise Part A or C at the Act rate.

Payee countryRoyaltyTechnical fees
United States15% (Art. 12)15% (Art. 12) · make-available test
United Kingdom15% (Art. 13)15% (Art. 13) · make-available test
Singapore10% (Art. 12)10% (Art. 12) · make-available test
United Arab Emirates10% (Art. 12)No article: business profits
Germany10% (Art. 12)10% (Art. 12)
Netherlands10% (Art. 12)10% (Art. 12)
Japan10% (Art. 12)10% (Art. 12)
Australia15% (Art. 12)15% (Art. 12) · make-available test
Canada15% (Art. 12)15% (Art. 12) · make-available test
France10% (Art. 13)10% (Art. 13)

Starting figures from FxLayer's treaty table, with the TRC and Form 41 on file. Treaty texts and protocols change; your CA confirms the rate for each country before you pay.

GST

IGST at 18% under reverse charge: the business in India that imports the service pays it in its own GST return (Notification 10/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate), entry 1) and takes the credit where it is eligible. Where the buyer is not registered under GST (an individual, for example), the foreign provider charges IGST itself as an online information and database access or retrieval (OIDAR) supplier.

Reporting and closure

The bank reports the payment under its code. FxLayer keeps the invoice, the Form 145 / 146 acknowledgements and the treaty papers on the payment, so the request goes to the bank complete.

Questions

Form A2: the application for every payment abroad other than for goods imported into India. With it go the invoice, the agreement or purchase order and, unless the code is on the specified list, the Form 145 acknowledgement (and Form 146 for Part C).
A software licence, SaaS or cloud subscription. Under the Act a licence to use software is royalty; under a tax treaty it is not, following Engineering Analysis Centre of Excellence v CIT (Supreme Court, 2021), because no copyright passes to the user. With the payee's treaty papers (TRC, Form 41 and a no-permanent-establishment declaration) nothing is withheld and Form 145 Part D is filed. Without them the Act rate applies: 20% plus surcharge and 4% cess (20.8% when there is no surcharge). Form 145 / 146: Part D with the treaty papers; otherwise Part A or C at the Act rate.
IGST at 18% under reverse charge: the business in India that imports the service pays it in its own GST return (Notification 10/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate), entry 1) and takes the credit where it is eligible. Where the buyer is not registered under GST (an individual, for example), the foreign provider charges IGST itself as an online information and database access or retrieval (OIDAR) supplier.

Guides

General information on RBI purpose codes and the FEMA, income-tax and GST rules as they stood on 14 October 2026. It is not legal or tax advice: confirm the position for your payment with your AD bank or your chartered accountant before acting.