P1108 Purpose Code: Health Service

Purpose code P1108 is used when an Indian hospital, doctor or healthcare professional receives payment from abroad for medical services, whether delivered remotely or on site.

What is the P1108 purpose code?

Purpose code P1108 covers money Indian healthcare providers receive from abroad for medical services. The description names hospitals, doctors, nurses and paramedical staff, and states that the services may be rendered remotely or on site. That phrase is what makes the code useful: remote delivery is written into it, so teleradiology, telemedicine and remote clinical work sit here without needing interpretation. The distinction from the medical travel code is where the patient is, since a patient who travels to India for treatment reports there and care delivered from India to someone abroad reports here. Under RBI FEMA guidelines, this inward payment is classified under Personal, Cultural & Recreational services and reported accordingly.

When to use P1108 purpose code?

Use P1108 when your hospital, practice or healthcare business is paid from abroad for medical services delivered to someone outside India, whether that is reading scans for an overseas hospital, a remote consultation, or clinical support provided to a foreign institution. It is the correct RBI purpose code for health services as an export. The description covers services rendered on site as well as remotely, so where your staff work at a location abroad it is worth confirming with your bank how those receipts should be treated.

When to use a different code:

• Use P0304 when the patient travelled to India for treatment, which is a travel receipt rather than a services export
• Use P0803 when the work is data processing on medical records rather than a clinical service
• Use the matching S-code when you are paying a foreign vendor rather than receiving money

Who typically uses P1108 purpose code

Indian hospitals, doctors, nurses and paramedical professionals paid by clients abroad, including teleradiology practices reading scans for overseas hospitals, telemedicine providers consulting with international patients, and clinical support businesses serving foreign healthcare institutions. It applies whether you invoice as an individual practitioner, a proprietorship, or a registered organisation.

Examples of transactions covered under P1108 purpose code

• Fees received from an overseas hospital for radiology reporting carried out in India
• Payment for remote consultations with patients living abroad
• Charges billed to a foreign healthcare institution for clinical support services
• Fees for paramedical or nursing services provided to an overseas client

When NOT to use P1108 purpose code

• The patient travelled to India for treatment, which is a travel receipt (use P0304)
• The work is data processing or transcription on medical records rather than a clinical service (use P0803)
• The payment relates to insurance claims or premium rather than services provided (use the insurance codes)
• You are paying a foreign vendor rather than receiving (use the matching S-code)

Documents required for P1108 purpose code

To receive a payment under P1108, keep the following documents ready so your bank or platform can verify the transaction and report it correctly under FEMA.

• Commercial invoice - Describes the health services provided and the amount billed to the overseas client
• Service agreement - Confirms the scope of clinical work, the institution or client, and the terms agreed
• Purpose declaration form - The inward remittance form where the purpose of funds is formally stated
• KYC documents (if requested) - Used to verify your identity or your organisation during onboarding or compliance checks
• The bank needs billing evidence rather than clinical records, so the invoice and agreement are what support the remittance.

How is a P1108 Purpose Code declared?

Declaring the code is pretty straightforward. Here's how the payment gets tagged and reported.

1. Provide the service: Deliver the clinical work remotely or on site under your agreement with the overseas client.
2. Raise your invoice: Bill the client for the services provided in the period, describing the work at a level your obligations allow.
3. Declare the purpose: State the purpose of the inward remittance, on your bank's form or through your platform.
4. Submit supporting documents: Provide the invoice and service agreement so the bank can verify the transaction.
5. Get your FIRA: Once processed, your FIRA is issued as proof and the payment is reported under FEMA.
6. With a traditional bank you handle each step of your payment journey. But with a platform built for cross-border payments, you can preselect a default purpose code so that the payments land smooth.

Common mistakes to avoid while using P1108 purpose code

A few common slips can hold up your payment or cause compliance issues. Here's what to watch for.

1. Using the medical travel code for remote care: Applying P0304 because the payment is for treatment, when that code covers patients who travelled to India and this one covers care delivered from India to someone abroad.
2. Coding clinical work as data processing: Treating teleradiology or remote reporting as a data service, when it is a clinical service and the description names it as a health service rendered remotely.
3. Code and invoice mismatch: The code not matching what your service agreement describes, which flags the payment.
4. Incomplete documents: Missing the invoice or agreement, so the bank cannot establish what the services were and holds funds until provided.
5. Missing PAN or KYC: Incomplete verification stops the bank from releasing the payment.
6. Using an inward code for an outward payment: Applying a receipt code to money you're sending out instead of the matching outward code.

How Skydo simplifies inward remittance under P1108 Purpose Code

With a bank, you declare the purpose code on your own for every single payment. With Skydo, you can preselect your code once and every payment gets tagged automatically.

1. Preselect the code once: Set P1108 as your default and Skydo tags every incoming payment for you, so there's no form to fill on each one.
2. No repeat declarations: A bank makes you restate the purpose for every remittance. Skydo does it in the background, the same way each time.
3. Instant, free FIRA: Your remittance proof is generated and stored on every payment, ready for your CA, GST, and audits, with no request and no fee.
4. Zero FX markup: You get the live mid-market rate with a flat, visible fee, instead of a markup hidden inside the bank's rate.
5. Settled in 24 hours: Your payment reaches your Indian bank within a day, fully reported and compliant.