The right paperwork depends on what the payment is for, so decide that before you pick how to document it.
If a DAO, a grant program or a bounty platform pays you in USDC, you can bring the money to your bank as rupees with DashX, but the right paperwork depends on what the payment is for. Payment for work you delivered fits a dollar invoice and an eFIRA. A grant or a prize can be treated differently for tax and for the purpose code, so confirm the category with your accountant before you decide how to document it.
Four kinds of payment, four kinds of paperwork
| Kind of payment | What it usually is | How to document it | Ask your accountant about |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract work for a DAO or protocol | Services to a recipient outside India | A USD invoice, payment to your DashX address, and an eFIRA | The purpose code and your GST position |
| A bounty for delivered work | Often payment for a service | An invoice or the bounty record, and an eFIRA | Whether the payment counts as a service or a prize |
| A grant | Funding for a project, treated in different ways | The grant agreement and the remittance record | Tax treatment and the right purpose code |
| A prize, token reward or airdrop | Often treated differently from service income | Records of where it came from and when | The separate tax rules for virtual digital assets |
The purpose code finder and our guide to RBI purpose codes help you test the first two rows.
Questions to ask the payer before you accept
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Which legal entity makes the payment, and in which country?
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Will the payer accept an invoice, or does it use its own form?
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Does it pay in USDC or USDT, and on which network?
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Will it pay to the address in your DashX dashboard instead of a personal wallet?
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Who approves the payment, and how long does that take?
Steps for a payment you can document as work
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Agree the scope and the amount in writing.
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Raise a USD invoice with the free invoice generator, or complete the payer's form with the same figures.
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Share the payment address from your DashX dashboard, with the coin and network.
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The payer sends from its treasury, and the coin is converted to USD outside India.
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The bank settles the rupees and issues your eFIRA, and you file it with the invoice.
The full path is in USDC to INR: how it works.
Where this usually goes wrong
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The payer pays a personal wallet by default. Ask for the address in your dashboard before the first payment.
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A multisig treasury delays the transfer. Ask when approvals happen, so you can plan around them.
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The payer sends a different token. DashX settles USDC and USDT, so ask for one of those.
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The payment arrives with no record of what it was for. Keep the proposal, the vote or the agreement that approved it.
Our safety checklist covers the other common mistakes.
Records to keep
Keep the agreement or the approved proposal, your invoice if you raised one, the transaction hash, the DashX payment confirmation and the eFIRA. Our guide on stablecoin tax for freelancers explains the virtual digital asset rules that your accountant will check against. Read tax notice red flags for freelancers and AIS and TIS reconciliation to see what the tax department already sees, and advance tax for freelancers with foreign income for the payment dates.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use DashX for DAO payments? Yes, when the DAO pays in USDC or USDT to the address in your dashboard.
Is a grant an export of services? Not necessarily. A grant is funding and is treated differently from payment for a service, so ask your accountant how it applies to you.
What if the DAO has no legal entity? Ask your accountant how to describe the payer, and keep the proposal, the vote or the agreement that approved the payment.
Can I get paid in the DAO's own token? Not through DashX. DashX settles USDC and USDT, so ask the payer to pay in one of them.
Contributing to a DAO from India? Sign up for DashX
