Income Tax Form 157: Certificate for Persons Leaving India Without PAN or Taxable Income

Form 157 under the Income-tax Act, 2025 is a mandatory certificate required for persons domiciled in India who are leaving the country and either do not possess a PAN or do not have income chargeable to tax. Filed at the time of departure, the form serves as a declaration confirming the absence of taxable income or PAN requirement. It is an event-based compliance applicable each time such a person leaves India and must be submitted manually to the jurisdictional Assessing Officer. The form requires basic personal and travel details along with supporting documents such as passport or emergency certificate. Unlike other tax clearance mechanisms, no proof of tax payment is required, as the form is based on self-declaration. The introduction of Form 157, carved out from earlier forms, simplifies compliance for low-risk taxpayers while enabling better administrative handling and ensuring that even non-taxable departures are properly documented.

Income Tax Department
Ministry of Finance, Government of India

FAQs on Income Tax Form 157 : Form for furnishing the certificate under section 420(4) of Income tax Act 2025 for Persons Leaving India Without PAN or Taxable Income

Form for furnishing the certificate under section 420(4) of the Act

Q1: What is Form 157?

Ans: Form 157 is a certificate to be furnished by persons domiciled in India leaving India. It is to be filed at time of departure. These persons are those without PAN, without chargeable income or not required to take PAN

Q2: Who should file Form 157?

Ans: The Form 157applies to those persons domiciled in India leaving India, who do not have PAN or income chargeable to tax in India.

Q3: Is Form 157 mandatory?

Ans: Yes, Form 157 is mandatory subject to exceptions notified, if any, by the government from time to time.

Q4: What is the time limit for filing Form 157?

Ans: Form 157 must be filed when the applicable domiciled person is leaving India

Q5: How many times can Form 157 be filed in a year?

Ans: Form 157 is event-based and is filed each time the applicable domiciled person is leaving India. Thus, the frequency of filing is dependent on the number of journeys undertaken by a domiciled person outside India.

Q6: What documents are required to file Form 157?

Ans: The following documents are required for filing Form 157.

1) Passport, PAN of the person leaving India

2) In absence of Passport, Emergency Certificate of the country issuing the same

Q7: Can I edit Form 157 after submission?

Ans: Form 157 is manual and therefore, form can be corrected before the submission to Assessing Officer and also later, with a request to the Assessing Officer to account for rectified form.

Q8: Do I need to attach proof of tax payment?

Ans: No. Form 157 is a simple declaration in form of certificate giving details of the person leaving India certifying that the person has no income chargeable to tax in India or is not required to have PAN. Tax payments are not part of the details to be given.

Q9: While filling personal details, can I leave Aadhaar or mobile number blank?

Ans:

• Aadhaar is no longer required in the personal details.
• Mobile number ensures faster communication and verification; it is recommended to provide it.

Q10: Can Form 157 be filed offline?

Ans: Yes. As it applies to those without PAN, it is proposed to continue the same manually.

Q11. What is the process flow of filing Form 157?

Ans: The form is submitted manually by the person leaving India before the respective Jurisdictional Assessing Officer.

Guidance Note on Income Tax Form 157: Form for furnishing the certificate under section 420(4) of Income tax Act 2025 for Persons Leaving India Without PAN or Taxable Income

FORM 157– Form for furnishing the certificate under section 420(4) of the Act

A. PURPOSE

This form is an undertaking to be furnished by persons domiciled in India leaving India to be filed at time of departure. It is a requirement under Section 420(4) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 and prescribed in Rule 228 of Income-tax Rules, 2026.

B. WHO SHOULD FILE

Domiciled persons leaving India but not having PAN or with no income chargeable to tax

C. FREQUENCY & DUE DATES

Filed when leaving India

D. STRUCTURE OF FORM 157

• Details of the person leaving India including Name, PAN, Passport/Emergency Certificate Number details
• Undertaking that the person does not have PAN or taxable income
• Details regarding purpose of visit outside India, estimated duration of stay outside India and passport related information

E. WHAT ARE THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO FILE THE FORM 157?

1) Passport, PAN of the person leaving India

2) In absence of Passport, Emergency Certificate of the country issuing the same Page 1 of 2

F. FILING COUNT:

N.A. Being a new proposed form, no filings.

G. WHAT IS THE PROCESS FLOW OF FILING FORM 157?

The form is submitted manually by the person leaving India before the respective Jurisdictional Assessing Officer.

H. BRIEF NOTE ON BROAD OR QUALITATIVE CHANGES PROPOSED

The form is split from Form 156 to apply to only those without PAN or have no income chargeable to tax and therefore, is proposed manual Form.

I. CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

1. Existing Form 156 is applicable to those with PAN and without PAN. The splitting of the Form 56 is suggested to provide both ease of compliance to the taxpayers and to enable easier handling of data by the department. By splitting, the Form 156 can be made into e-form (where PAN is available) and the split Form157 is manual (for persons with no PAN or no chargeable incomes) and would enable the filing in more convenient manner.

J. COMMON CHANGES MADE ACROSS FORMS

1. Assessment / Financial / Previous year or years have been replaced with Tax year or years, wherever appearing in the Form/Annexure.

2. Sections, Clauses and Schedules changes as per the Income-tax Act, 2025.

3. Common verification statement.