Is Form 67 Mandatory for Foreign Tax Credit?

I almost missed filing Form 67 because I thought declaring the foreign income in Schedule FSI would be enough.

After speaking with a tax professional, I submitted Form 67 before my return was processed. They explained that while some judicial decisions have treated delayed filing as a procedural issue in specific cases, the Income Tax Department's current process expects Form 67 to be filed when claiming Foreign Tax Credit. Requirements can change, and individual facts matter, so I wouldn't assume a late filing will always be accepted.

My situation involved U.S. dividend income.

Foreign tax had already been withheld, and I wanted to claim credit under the India–U.S. DTAA. I filed Form 67 online through the e-Filing portal before submitting my ITR and entered the foreign income details in the relevant schedules.

The form itself wasn't very difficult. The time-consuming part was collecting the supporting documents showing the foreign tax deducted.

From my experience, it's better to complete Form 67 first rather than trying to revise things later.

I claimed Foreign Tax Credit last year for tax deducted in the UK.

My CA advised me to submit Form 67 before filing my Income Tax Return, and we attached the foreign tax statement issued by the UK tax authority along with proof of tax deducted. Everything was accepted during processing.

Although there have been some court rulings on delayed filing of Form 67, my CA said it's much safer to comply with the prescribed procedure instead of relying on litigation. The Income Tax Department's guidance also says Form 67 should be filed before the due date for filing the return if you're claiming FTC.