What is FIRC?
FIRC (Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate) is a document that acts as a proof for all the inward remittances from foreign countries to India. When an Indian person receives funds from a foreign country, it is credited to his account by an authorized depository. FIRC acts as a proof for his money receiving transaction. FIRC came under the lime light when the GST is introduced by the Government of India for freelancing earnings.
PayPal FIRC Details
PayPal recently issued an email to its customers regarding GST charges effective from October 2017. Every freelancer in India has to apply FIRC for each individual transaction. At the present scenario, FIRC is issued only by Citibank.
If you own a Citibank account for your foreign inward remittances, the fee for the FIRC 200+18% GST will be automatically applied to your each transaction. If you don’t own a Citibank account then you will be required to submit a Demand Draft of the fee amount in favor of ‘CITIBANK INDIA NA FIRC CHARGES’, payable at Mumbai together with the FIRC request letter.
According to the PayPal after October 2017, for every inward remittance, you will require a FIRC copy. To request a FIRC in Citibank you will need the following details.
- Unique Transaction Reference number (UTR)
- Customer name
- Account number
- Amount of money
- Date and purpose of the payment
- Address for FIRC document delivery
Individuals with non-Citibank account holders will be required to submit a Demand Draft of the fee amount in favor of ‘Citibank N.A.’, together with the FIRC request letter. After the above details submissions and 200INR + 18% GST charges in the Citibank you will get FIRC in 3 working days (For only Citibank customers), and for non-Citibank account holders, the time will be 7 working days.
For your future transactions download this format for FIRC request form and apply with Demand Draft.
How PayPal Depositing Funds To Your Account
When it comes to receiving funds from PayPal to your bank account, the PayPal converts the money you received USD or Euro to Indian Rupees at their end and transfer to Citibank India which in turn sends NEFT to your personal bank account. PayPal has chosen Citibank as a medium to send NEFT payments to the respective beneficiary bank accounts in India.
Please let us know your comments below. If you have any doubt regarding FIRC and any help please use the comment box for more details.