Income Tax Form 159: Tax Clearance Certificate Issued by Assessing Officer

 Form 159 is a Tax Clearance Certificate issued by the Assessing Officer under Section 420(5) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, in response to an application made through Form 158. It is not filed by taxpayers but granted upon verification of tax compliance before an individual leaves India. The certificate is mandatory for specified persons identified by the tax authorities, and without it, departure from India may be restricted. There is no prescribed statutory timeline for its issuance, but taxpayers must apply sufficiently in advance to allow processing. The issuance is event-based and linked to each instance of foreign travel. The process is handled electronically through ITBA systems, enhancing efficiency and monitoring. Form 159 contains key details such as identity, travel information, and validity period of the clearance. The shift to digital integration with Form 158 improves administration, ensures compliance, and strengthens enforcement of tax obligations prior to international travel.

Income Tax Department
Ministry of Finance, Government of India

FAQs on Income Tax Form 159 (Earlier Form 33): Tax Clearance Certificate Issued by Assessing Officer under section 420(5) of Income Tax Act, 2025

Clearance Certificate under section 420(5) of the Act

Q1: What is Form 159?

Ans: Form 159 is Tax Clearance Certificate issued by the Assessing Officer in response to application made in Form 158.

Q2: Who should file Form 159?

Ans: Form 159 is not a form filed by the taxpayer. It is Tax Clearance Certificate issued by the Assessing Officer to the specified taxpayer.

Q3: Is Form 159 mandatory?

Ans: On receipt of the application in Form 158, subject to the requirements of the Income-tax Act, 2025, the Assessing Officer will issue the Form 159.

Q4: What is the time limit for filing Form 159?

Ans: There is no prescribed statutory time limit to issue Form 159. It is issued in response to Form 158 filed by the taxpayer. Form 158 is filed as per the travel requirements of the specified domiciled person leaving India and Form 159 is issued in response to the same. Sufficient time should be given to the Assessing Officer to process and issue the same.

Q5: How many times can Form 159 be filed in a year?

Ans: Form 159 is issued when the Form 158 is filed by the person leaving India. It is event based and hence, depends on the travel requirements of the person applying for the same.

Q6: What documents are required to file Form 159?

Ans: Form 158 is required to be filed for issue of Form 159.

Q7: What is the process flow of issuing Form 159?

Ans: The certificate is issued by Assessing Officer through ITBA functionality to the person who has applied for the same.

Q8: Why is Form 159 important?

Ans: Form 159 is Tax Clearance Certificate issued by the AO in response to application made in Form 158. Without the requisite Tax Clearance Certificate as mandated by the department, the taxpayer cannot leave the country.

Guidance Note on Income Tax Form 159 (Earlier Form 33): Tax Clearance Certificate Issued by Assessing Officer under section 420(5) of Income Tax Act, 2025

FORM 159- Clearance Certificate under section 420(5) of the Act

A. PURPOSE

This form is Tax Clearance Certificate issued by the AO in response to application made in Form 158. It is a requirement under Section 420(5) of the Income tax Act 2025. and prescribed in Rule 228 of Income-tax Rules, 2026.

B. WHO SHOULD FILE

This is a form issued by the AO in response to Form 158 filed by the person leaving India.

C. FREQUENCY & DUE DATES

It is issued when Form 158 is filed. There is no statutory timeline for issue of the same and it is , as per the travel requirement of the taxpayer.

D. STRUCTURE OF FORM 159

• Details of the person leaving India including Name, PAN, Aadhar and Passport/Emergency Certificate Number details
• Validity of Certificate with respect to specified dates of travel

E. WHAT ARE THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO FILE THE FORM 159 ?

Form 158 is required to be filed for issue of Form 159.

F. FILING COUNT

N.A. Being a manual form, centralised data is not available

G. WHAT IS THE PROCESS FLOW OF FILING FORM 159?

The certificate is issued by Assing Officer through ITBA functionality.

H. OUTCOME OF PROCESSED FORM 159

This is a Tax Clearance Certificate which is specified as to be taken compulsorily for specific taxpayers, by the Assessing Officer. Thus, upon processing of Form 158, the certificate is issues in Form 159.

Consequences of Non-compliance: Without the requisite Tax Clearance Certificate as mandated by the department, the taxpayer cannot leave the country

I. BRIEF NOTE ON BROAD OR QUALITATIVE CHANGES PROPOSED

Key updates include the following

• For arrangements with regard to tax payment, along with Income Tax, Black Money Act is also specified as this is a direct tax administered by the department
• DIN Number inserted in the Form template to depict that it is issued on the ITBA by the Assessing Officer.

J. CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

Earlier Form 158 which is the application for Tax Clearance Certificate was manual. Now, that is proposed to be e-Form and therefore, the same can be tagged with the Form 159 for data compilation

K. COMMON CHANGES MADE ACROSS FORMS

1. To make Forms system-friendly, certain anomalies found due to grouping of Name, Designation, Address, PAN have been separated into different boxes.

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

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