If you export services from India, whether you write code, design interfaces or run a marketing agency, a CA has probably asked you for a "FIRC".
What you actually need for an ordinary client payment is a FIRA. The two are related, and the confusion between them costs freelancers GST refunds and leaves foreign receipts unexplained when the Income Tax Department asks. Here is the difference and why having the right document matters.
FIRC vs FIRA vs e-FIRA
| FIRC (Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate) | FIRA / e-FIRA (Foreign Inward Remittance Advice) | |
|---|---|---|
| Current use | Largely replaced for ordinary export receipts | The standard document for service exports |
| Typical purpose | Foreign investment flows, FDI and FII, share capital | Freelance and agency income, IT services, consulting, SaaS |
| Format | Historically a paper certificate | Digital PDF from the AD Category I bank |
| Issuance | On request, some banks charge, can take weeks | Automatic at some banks and platforms, on request at others |
If your bank still calls it a FIRC, the document does the job. What matters is that it comes from an AD Category I bank and records the purpose code.
Why FIRA matters
A FIRA is the AD Category I bank's certification that foreign currency entered India for a stated purpose and was converted to INR. Without it, you cannot show that a bank credit was a payment from a foreign client.
- GST zero-rating and refunds. Export of services is zero-rated. You file an LUT to invoice at 0%, which needs no FIRA. But to claim a refund of input tax credit, Rule 89 requires proof of realisation, which is the FIRA or BRC linking invoices to remittances.
- Section 68 and the 78% rate. If the department questions a foreign credit and you cannot show what it was, it can be treated as an unexplained cash credit under Section 68 and taxed under Section 115BBE at 60% plus a 25% surcharge and 4% cess, an effective 78%, plus penalties. That is the arithmetic, not a scare line. The FIRA is what prevents it.
- Section 44ADA. The 50% presumption applies to professional receipts. The FIRA is the evidence that a receipt was professional income from abroad.
Read our complete guide to FIRA.
With and without a FIRA
Imagine a query for FY 2025-26.
- Without FIRA. The officer sees ₹30 lakh of NEFT credits from a payment gateway. You say it is freelance income from abroad. You have PayPal emails and bank statements. None of it is bank-certified proof of a foreign inward remittance, so the export claim is hard to sustain and the credits are open to Section 68 treatment.
- With FIRA. You produce a FIRA for each credit listing the sender, the USD amount, the rate and the RBI purpose code, P0802 for software consultancy for example. Each one matches an invoice. The question is answered with the bank's own document.
How DashX issues FIRA
Some banks still require a manual request and a form for every wire. With DashX, the FIRA is part of the payment.
- Automatic on the fiat rail. Every payment settled through DashX's fiat rail has a FIRA issued through our AD Category I bank partners (JP Morgan and HDFC).
- On request on the stablecoin rail. $3 at confirmation or $4 later.
- In your dashboard. Attached to the payment, searchable, downloadable for your CA.
- With the right purpose code. Matched to the service you describe, consistent across payments.
DashX operates through RBI-authorised AD Category I banks and PA-CB licensed partners. DashX doesn't give tax advice. We make sure the documentation exists. Try DashX.
For what each remittance document proves, see our FIRA guide for freelancers.
