CA Arrested by ED for issuing Form 15CB to some entities allegedly involved in Money Laundering

The CA was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for issuing Form 15 CB to various organisations suspected of money laundering. Arresting a Chartered Accountant for issuing Form 15 CB for some firms that aren’t even the principal defendants is entirely unjustified.

Advocates Abhishek Garg and Apurva M.Gokhle argued that when issuing Form 15CB, a chartered accountant is not required to put himself in the shoes of the investigation agency to determine whether the transaction is for money laundering purposes, because he only determines the tax to be deducted when making the remittance.

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It’s sad that a CA might be apprehended in this fashion while the agency is unable to locate any of the primary suspects. Payments made to a Non-Resident who is not a company or to a Foreign Company that are taxable and over Rs. 5 lakh must be reported on Form 15CB. Form 15CB is an event-based form that must be completed for each remittance that meets the conditions set forth.

A CA certifies the payment information, TDS rate, TDS deduction, and other details regarding the nature and purpose of the remittance in form 15CB. To put it another way, Form 15CB is the Tax Determination Certificate, which is used by the CA to assess a remittance for chargeability provisions.

This form can be filed both online and offline, and there is no time limit for completing it.