Rule 72 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026

Where this rule sits

Rule 72 gives effect to Section 151 and Section 152 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. A rule cannot go beyond the section it serves: where the two seem to differ, the section governs.

← Rule 71  ·  Rule 73 →

What this rule does

The rule does two things and no more. For the purposes of sections 151(6) and 152(6), clause (a) prescribes the authority: the Reserve Bank of India or another authorised authority under current laws regulating foreign exchange transactions. Clause (b) prescribes the document: the certificate is to be furnished in Form No. 38.

The rule says nothing about what the certificate must state, who must obtain it, or by when. Those come from sections 151(6) and 152(6) themselves and from the contents of Form No. 38.

Why it is there

Sections 151(6) and 152(6) each require a certificate from a prescribed authority but leave the authority and the form to be prescribed. Rule 72 fills both blanks with a single answer for both sections, so the same certificate and the same authority serve either provision. Naming the Reserve Bank of India, or another authorised authority under the laws regulating foreign exchange transactions, keeps the certification with the regulator that already sees the transaction rather than with the tax administration.

Who it applies to

• A person required to furnish a certificate under section 151(6) or section 152(6)
• The Reserve Bank of India, as the prescribed authority
• Another authority authorised under the laws currently regulating foreign exchange transactions

The forms it prescribes

• Form No. 38 — the certificate to be furnished for the purposes of sections 151(6) and 152(6)

What this means in practice

This is a pointer rule, and its limits matter as much as its content. It settles that a certificate from anyone other than the Reserve Bank of India or an authority authorised under the foreign exchange laws does not answer sections 151(6) and 152(6), and that no format other than Form No. 38 does. It settles nothing about the substantive condition — what has to be true before the certificate can issue is in the sections, not here — so a reader who wants to know what the certificate proves has to go to sections 151(6) and 152(6) and to Form No. 38 itself.

Where you meet this rule

You meet it when a claim under section 151 or section 152 is made or examined and the certificate has to be produced: the question asked is whether it is in Form No. 38 and whether it came from the Reserve Bank of India or another authority authorised under the foreign exchange laws.

The words themselves

What people get wrong

• Producing a bank's own letter or a chartered accountant's certificate. Rule 72(a) confines the prescribed authority to the Reserve Bank of India or another authority authorised under the laws regulating foreign exchange transactions.
• Furnishing the certificate in any other format. Rule 72(b) requires Form No. 38.
• Looking to rule 72 for the substantive condition or the time limit. The rule prescribes only the authority and the form; the requirement itself is in sections 151(6) and 152(6).
• Assuming a separate certificate and a separate authority for each of the two sections. Rule 72 prescribes one authority and one Form for both.