Foreign Exchange Transactions - Electronic Reporting System 
(User Guide for Version 6.2)

Reserve Bank of India introduced an electronic reporting system for foreign exchange transactions in October 1997. Software has been developed in-house by Department of Statistical Analysis & Computer Services (DESACS), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to expedite the compilation of Balance of Payments Statistics. The package creates files in the required file layout for electronic reporting. The software has been developed to ensure consistency in reporting, which is very important for electronic reporting. The package is capable of generating reports and schedules, which can be used for compilation of R Returns.
 
The purpose and country details of sale and purchase transactions are required for compilation of balance of payments. The timely compilation of Balance of Payments data
is essential for policy making by the Government and the RBI. With the signing of General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) under World Trade Organisation (WTO), the member countries are required to disseminate the data on international trade in services as per Manual on Statistics on International Trade in Services (MSITS). Also to meet the requirement of compilation of BoP Statistics as per the guidelines under IMF Balance of Payments Manual, 1993 (5th edition) (BPM5), the scope of collection of data on foreign exchange transactions has to be widened. In order to meet those national perspectives, new purpose codes have been devised under various heads of services. The new purpose codes are of 5 characters instead of 4 characters in the earlier versions of FET-ERS system. Accordingly, the structure of two file layouts (viz. BOP.TXT and URS.TXT), which are submitted to RBI along with other ASCII files, have undergone change.  The names of these files have also been changed to BOP6.TXT and URS6.TXT so as to differentiate it from the files generated using old purpose codes under earlier versions of FET-ERS. Further more, one new file viz. QE.TXT is added to capture the R-return cover-page data. This would not only facilitate compilation of BoP Statistics but also help in carrying out negotiation in WTO as regards trade in services by India.  It may be noted that there is no change in the file layouts of ENC.TXT (84 Characters), SCH3to6.TXT (69 characters) and BANKCODE.TXT (15 characters) as the purpose fields are not part of these file layouts. Because of reasons mentioned above and as international investor community also seeks these data for their investment decisions, it is, important that the authorised dealers submit the data in the required format with the coding system, within the prescribed time frame to RBI. The software has been designed keeping in view the level of computerisation of the banks. The DOS based package would run on the MS-DOS / WINDOWS based operating system, supporting DOS executable. Transaction-wise details of currency, amount, purpose, country etc., are required to be entered. The package provides for on-line validation of various codes to avoid data entry errors. It also provides for a report, which can be used to cross check the data reported on manual R Return cover page.
 
As per the instructions/directions contained in AP (DIR Series) Circular no. 76 dated February 3, 2003, it has been decided that with the switch over to Electronic Reporting System in FET-ERS (Version 5.0) the submission of various documents/statements/schedules prescribed in the said circular have been discontinued w.e.f. the first fortnight of February 2003. Authorised Dealers are, however, advised to continue to submit the hard copies of the cover page, R-Return (Nostro) & R-Return (Vostro), together with FET-ERS (Version 5.0), in floppy form. With the implementation of FET-ERS Version 6.2, ADs have to submit data in the file layouts specified under Version 6.2 only along with the hard copies of cover-page of R-Return (Nostro) & R-Return (Vostro). The package can also be used to prepare the data for Survey of Unclassified Receipts conducted by RBI for inward remittances below Rs. 5,00,000. This feature would be useful only for the branches selected for the survey. 

The banks are required to generate transaction-wise details of purchases above Rs. 5,00,000 in supplementary statement to R-Return in the prescribed format. In order to generate this statement, additional particulars such as name and address of beneficiary and remitter and country of remitter need to be entered. For preparation of ENC statement and schedules 3 to 6, additional particulars such as GR/PP/SOFTEX form number, custom number, bill number, IE code, shipping bill number and date, full invoice value and country of destination will have to be entered. Provision to enter the additional particulars from R-Return cover page has also been made in the software.

Consistency Checks

In order to carry out consistency checks with the transactions entered with the currency-wise x item-wise totals for the respective fortnight, the software has been suitably modified. Further, arithmetic accuracy is also carried out using the following formulae before generating floppy for RBI use.

   Closing Balances = Opening Balances + Total Purchases - Total Sales

In case of data entry of vostro (ACU Dollar & Indian rupee) transactions, country code of vostro a/c holder whose a/c is credited/debited would also be required to be entered in addition to country of destination of exports, country of origin/country of beneficiary in case of imports & non-imports, country of remitter in case of non-exports. If the country of a/c holder is blank, it will be treated as Nostro a/c transaction. So, while entering transactions for ACD & INR, it is essential to declare whether it is a nostro a/c transaction or vostro a/c transaction so as to facilitate the tallying of opening & closing balances during the fortnight using the above formulae.
   
Using the software

1) Installation

Hardware Configuration 
Minimum
Pentium processor, 16 MB RAM, 40 MB Hard Disk, 1.44 MB Floppy Drive (1.2 
MB is not preferred)
101 key keyboard
Monochrome Monitor
132 column Dot Matrix Printer (capable of printing in compressed mode)
MS-DOS Operating System

For installation of the FET-ERS on the PC, insert the software diskette supplied by RBI in the floppy drive (A/B). Change drive to A (or B) by command A: (or B:). Type "install <dirname>" at "A:\" (or "B:\"). Give <dirname> as ERS6 or any other name of your choice. After copying the files from floppy diskette to the hard disk, you will be prompted to enter the following:

a) Uniform Code Number (Part I & Part II) of the branch, 
b) Name and Address of the Bank branch. 
If you have MS-DOS, run ERS from C:\ prompt. Even if you have MS-Windows 3.1or 3.11 (other than Windows 95), do not invoke windows for executing the ERS program. For operating ERS in Windows use the following steps.

1. Click right mouse button on the windows desktop (opening screen with icons)
2. Select "New" > "Shortcut" and click
3. Type "C:\ERS" in the command line
4. Click on the Next > button
5. Select name for a shortcut as "ERS for R-Return"
6. Click on the Next > button
7. Select any icon
8. Click on the Finish button

The selected icon will be displayed on the desktop with title "ERS for R-Return". After this you should carry out following steps.

1. Click right mouse button on the ERS icon
2. Select "Properties"
3. Click on Program tab (The tabs are displayed at the top of the window)
4. Click on "Advanced ." button 
5. Check (?) MS-DOS mode. 
6. Click on OK Button.
7. Click on OK Button once again.

Double click on ERS icon to execute the program from Windows 95 desktop.

The package does not require high level of computer knowledge. Preliminary knowledge of keyboard operations and MS-DOS operating system will be sufficient for operating the same. Various modules are grouped under submenus like data entry, listing, reports and system maintenance. Option `Exit' is available for closing the program and Returning to the operating system.
 
For starting the program - "ERS" should be typed at "C:\".

2) Operating the package

Data Entry

All the transactions of sale to public against imports, non-imports (Other than Imports), intermediary imports and purchases from public against exports, non-exports (Other than Exports) and intermediary exports as well as cover page totals (including opening & closing balances) in forex are required to be entered using the data entry module, (i.e. Aggregate value of Imports (below), Imports (above), Non-Imports (below) and Non-Imports (above), Exports (totals), Non-Exports (below), Non-Exports (above), Intermediary Exports (totals), Intermediary Imports (totals) are to be entered for each currency). If the branch is selected for Survey of Unclassified Receipts, the details of non-export transactions below Rs. 5,00,000 and its equivalent on the selected dates should also be entered. For the purpose of preparing ENC statement, all the export bills negotiated / purchased / discounted / sent on collection should be entered. Such options may be selected at the time of installation or can be added/removed using "System Configuration" option of "System Maintenance" menu. Step by step guidelines for data entry are as follows.

1. The transaction date should be entered in DD/MM/YYYY format. For example, February 20, 2003 should be entered as 20/02/2003. It is important to ensure correct entry of transaction date because records are selected for printing reports on the basis of transaction date. Transaction date is the date of sale / purchase / negotiation of bill/ opening balance/ closing balance etc., by the AD. For entering cover-page totals, preferably end of reporting period date should be used. However package will allow you to chose any date in-between  the reporting period.

2. Serial Number of transaction is automatically generated by the system. The number starts with 1 for each date. The serial number is used as identification of transaction along with date for modification / correction / deletion.

3. An additional field for Bank Reference has been provided, where ADs may enter the reference number for their own use. This field has no relevance for the data reporting.

4. The currency code is to be entered as per the international standards adopted by SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication). If wrong code is entered, a message "Invalid Currency Code (Press Space)" would be displayed at the top of screen. If the currency is same as the previous transaction, only press ENTER. In case of Vostro ACD / INR, country of account holder is required to be entered.  

5. The list of purpose codes has been designed to capture the details required for compilation of Balance of Payments statistics. The prefix "S" denotes Sale (Out flow) and "P" denotes Purchase (In flow) transaction. In help option all the purpose are segregated in three major groups viz. "SALES", "PURCHASE" & "COVER PAGE". Further subgroup is to be selected to display limited codes under each subgroup.

The total of all purchases other than exports which are individually below Rs. 5,00,000 is required to be entered for each currency using purpose code "P1590", classified under subgroup "Cover page Totals" (In this case individual transactions should not be entered). Similar are the case for inter-bank deals i.e. 'Sale to other ADs, Sale to RBI etc, with relevant purpose codes under "Cover page Totals". If the purpose code is same as the previous transaction, just press ENTER to confirm the code appearing on the screen. Like currency, if wrong purpose code is entered, an error message "Invalid Purpose Code (Press F1)" appears at the top of the screen. 

6. Amount of transaction in the currency of denomination is to be entered under the head "Amount in F.C.". In the case of VOSTRO rupee based transactions Rupee amount should be entered under this item. 

7. The data entry screen for further fields depends on the purpose code.
 
8. Enter the Rupee equivalent in the next column if asked for. This field has been provided to separate the sale transactions above and below Rs. 5,00,000 for R-Return compilation. However, if no rate is quoted to the customer (like in case of export bills send for collection), the field may be left blank by pressing ENTER. It may be noted that transactions where Rupee equivalent is left blank are interpreted as transaction below Rs. 5,00,000 for compilation of R-return. After entering the Rupee equivalent of the value, exchange rate will be automatically displayed on the screen. This will facilitate on line checking of the data. For example, if the exchange rate displayed is not correct, there is data entry mistake in either the foreign currency value or the Rupee equivalent. 

9. If the purpose code indicates that the transaction relates to export, additional information relevant for compilation of ENC statement and schedules 3 to 6 should be entered. A field `Indicator' has been provided to distinguish between the export bills raised for multiple shipments from the normal bills, which are for one shipment. It may be noted that all shipments, which are covered by separate GR/PP forms, are required to be reported. For such transactions, value 5 should be entered for record, which contains the combined bill value. Other transactions covered in the same bill may be entered with GR value and indicator value 4. For normal transactions, the indicator may be entered as 0. The "Amount in F.C." is the bill amount, which is reported in R-Return, and the "Full invoice value (including advance received earlier)" is the amount, which is reported in ENC statement. Additional details such as shipping bill date, bill number, Importer exporter code, GR/PP/SOFTEX form number (wherever required), country of destination, shipping bill number and custom number (wherever required) are also required to be entered. For PP/SOFTEX forms, the fields for shipping bill number and custom number need not be entered. In case of SOFTEX forms, date of transmission may be entered against the shipping bill date. For PP forms, shipping bill date may also be left blank. Purpose codes P0105 and P0106 have been defined to capture the data on bills sent on collection including miscellaneous export bills and overdue bills transferred to collection portfolio respectively for the purpose of ENC statement. Purpose code P0107 has been defined to capture realisation of negotiated/ purchased / discounted bills in schedules 3 to 6. 

10. Some major custom ports have adopted electronic data interchange (EDI) in respect of export transactions. The new system will be based on shipping bill instead of GR forms. In place of GR (Duplicate) form, Exchange Control (EC) copy of the shipping bill would be used for negotiation. Under such circumstances, ADs are required to enter dummy GR form number as ZZ000000 while entering export transactions. In these cases, the shipping bill number (inclusive of UN-ECE port code (excluding IN) and port type i.e. 1,2,3,4,5,6,8 e.g. in the case of port code IN BOM1 only BOM1 is a part of 11 digit shipping bill number) and shipping bill date would serve as the transaction identification. Custom number field may be left blank in such cases. 

11. The columns for name and address of beneficiary and remitter and country would be displayed if the purpose code is for purchases other than exports and the Rupee equivalent is above Rs. 5,00,000. 

12. If the branch is selected for Survey of Unclassified Receipts, the transactions below Rs. 5,00,000 on the selected dates are required to be entered individually. These transactions can be entered only if the system configuration indicates that the branch is selected for the survey.

13. In addition to this, a provision has also been made in the software to enter the cover page totals (i) Imports below (i.e. Purpose code S0190) (ii) Imports above (i.e. Purpose code S0191) (iii) Non-Imports below (i.e. Purpose code S1590) (iv) Non-Imports above (i.e. Purpose code S1591) (v) Exports totals (i.e. Purpose code P0100) (vi) Non-Exports below (i.e. Purpose code P1590) (vii) Non-Exports above (i.e. Purpose code P1591) (viii) Intermediary Exports Totals (i.e. Purpose code P0144) (ix) Intermediary Imports Totals (i.e. Purpose code S0144)   (x)  Reserve Bank of India (i.e. Purpose code S0091/P0091), (xi) Other ADs in India (i.e. Purpose code S0092/P0092), (xii) overseas Banks/correspondents (i.e. Purpose code S0093/P0093) and (xiii) credit/debit to/from vostro a/c of overseas Banks/correspondents (i.e. Purpose code S0094/P0094) (xiv) Sales/Purchases at branches (i.e. Purpose code S0095/P0095) (xv) Nostro Mirror/Vostro (debit opening balance) (i.e. Purpose code P2088) (xvi) Nostro Mirror/Vostro (debit closing balance) (i.e. Purpose code P2199) (xvii) Nostro Mirror/Vostro (credit opening balance) (i.e. Purpose code S2088) (xviii) Nostro Mirror/Vostro (credit closing balance) (i.e. Purpose code S2199). ADs are required to enter the currency-wise totals of Interbank deals at the end of fortnight. 
 
After completing the data entry, list of transactions should be printed for checking the same with the source documents (A-1 / A-2 / GR / PP / SOFTEX forms etc.). Various types of transactions can be separately printed using relevant option in the sub-menu `Listing'. Record modification and deletion, if required, can be carried out by choosing relevant option under the sub-menu `Data Entry'. 

14. In order to estimate suppliers credits upto six months, date of shipment and an indicator whether under L/C or not need to be entered from A-1 forms. For purpose codes S0102 & S0103, these information are required to be entered & date of shipment should be earlier than the transaction date.

Reports

After ensuring that all the transactions for a fortnight have been correctly entered, the reports can be generated from the system. The list of reports is as follows:

1. R - Return report for a fortnight 
2. Schedules 1 to 6
3. Supplementary statement of purchases above Rs. 5,00,000
4. ENC Statement

For printing the reports, keep the printer ready with paper. If you do not wish to print the report for any reason, the same may be aborted by pressing any key other than "P" when prompted. Samples of the reports based on the test data are provided in the annexure. 

Reporting to RBI

The electronic reporting system is in addition to the submission of R-Return cover page. It helps branches to prepare the R-Return by preparing files for ENC statement, supplementary statement of purchases, Schedules 1 to 6. It also facilitates reporting data under the Survey of Unclassified Receipts for the selected branches.

Due to discontinuation of submission of various documents alongwith R-Return, accurate reporting of data by ADs has assumed utmost importance. Accordingly consistency checks have been introduced in the FET-ERS software. These checks need to be performed after entering the data (i.e. individual transactions) for the entire fortnight and relevant with currency-wise x item-wise cover-page totals as mentioned earlier in the section 13 of Data Entry. Checks are also introduced for checking the closing balances using the following formulae before generating floppy for RBI use.

 Closing Balances = Opening Balances + Total Purchases - Total Sales

In case of data entry of vostro (ACU Dollar & Indian rupee) transactions, country code of vostro a/c holder whose a/c is credited/debited would also be required to be entered in addition to country of destination of exports, country of origin/country of beneficiary in case of imports & non-imports, country of remitter in case of non-exports. If the country of a/c holder is blank it will be treated as Nostro a/c transaction. So, while entering transactions for ACD, it is essential to declare whether it is a nostro a/c transaction or vostro a/c transaction so as to facilitate the tallying of opening & closing balances during the fortnight using the above formulae. Also, in case of Vostro cover-page totels, care should be taken to enter the cover-page totals for currency X country of Vostro A/C X item mentioned earlier in section 13 of Data Entry. The files generated by the ERS system should be copied on floppy diskette and sent to RBI along with the R-Return cover page for the relevant fortnight. The floppy for submission to RBI can be created using the option given under main menu option "Reports". The names of files and their structure are given below. 

Only 3.5 inch size floppy diskettes should be used for reporting data to RBI. The floppy diskettes should be packed in specially available floppy mailers, which are waterproof and dust-proof. In order to facilitate identification of floppy at RBI, following information should be invariably written on the floppy label. 

1. Name of Bank
2. Branch Name and address
3. Uniform Code Number (Part I) (A. D. Code)
4. Period ending date
The files are created as ASCII files with one record per line. Layout of the files is as follows 

1. BANKCODE.TXT
	Field					Format    Character Position
	A. D. Code (Uniform Code)     Char (7)      1-7
	Period Ending Date            YYYYMMDD      8-15

2. BOP6.TXT for A-1, A-2 forms & Supplementary statement for other than 
   exports, exports negotiation/discount/purchase/ realisation 
	Field                         Format    Character Position
	Transaction Date              YYYYMMDD        1-8
	Serial No.                    Num. (4)       9-12
	Purpose Code                  Char (5)      13-17
	Country Code                  Char (2)      18-19
	Currency Code                 Char (3)      20-22
	Amount                        Num. (11,0)   23-33
	Date of Shipment              YYYYMMDD      34-41
	LC                            char (1)         42
	Country of Vostro a/c Holder  char (2)      43-44

3. ENC.TXT

	Field                         Format     Character Position
	A.D. Code                     Char (7)        1-7
	Date of Negotiation           YYYYMMDD       8-15
	Bill Number                   Char (7)      16-22
                                    e.g. N000001
	Importer Exporter Code        Char (10)     23-32
	GR/PP/SOFTEX Form Number      Char (8)      33-40
                                    e.g. AA000001
	Shipping Bill Number          Char (11)     41-51
	Shipping Bill Date            YYYYMMDD      52-59
	Custom Serial Number          Char (10)     60-69
	Currency                      Char (3)      70-72
	Invoice Value                 Num. (10)     73-82
            (with preceding zeros. e.g. 123456)
	Country of Destination        Char (2)      83-84

4. SCH3TO6.TXT (Schedules 3 to 6)

	Field                         Format      Character Position
	Transaction Date              YYYYMMDD        1-8
	Bill Number                   Char (7)       9-15
	GR/PP/SOFTEX Form Number      Char (8)      16-23
	Shipping Bill Number          Char (11)     24-34
	Shipping Bill Date            YYYYMMDD      35-42
	Currency                      Char (3)      43-45
	Invoice Value                 Num. (10)     46-55
	Realised Value                Num. (10)     56-65
	Country of Destination        Char (2)      66-67
	Schedule No.                  Char (1)         68

5. URS6.TXT 
   (Applicable to branches selected for Survey of Unclassified Receipts)

	Field                         Format      Character Position
	Transaction Date              YYYYMMDD        1-8
	Serial Number                 Num. (4)       9-12
	Country of Remitter           Char (2)      13-14
	Currency                      Char (3)      15-17
	Purpose                       Char (5)      18-22
	Number of Transactions        Num. (7)      23-29
	Amount in F.C.                Num. (11)     30-40
	Amount in Rs. (Equivalent)    Num. (11)     41-51


6. QE.TXT (For Cover Page Totals)- New file in Version 6.0

	Field                         Format      Character Position
	Transaction Date              YYYYMMDD        1-8
	Serial Number                 Num. (4)       9-12
	Purpose                       Char (5)      13-17
	Country of Vostro A/C holder  Char (2)      18-19
	Currency                      Char (3)      20-22
	Amount in F.C.                Num. (11)     23-33
	Return Vostro(V)/Nostro(N)    Char (1)         34

If ADs are using their own packages to create the above files, following things should be ensured. 

Files are in ASCII format and not in any other format such as DBF, XLS etc. The file layouts given above should be adhered to strictly. Any deviation from the format would render the file unusable. The inter relationship among files BOP6.TXT, QE.TXT and R-Return cover page are as follows.


Note 1: Relationship among files reported in FETERS V 6.2 i.e BOP6.TXT, QE.TXT
        and R-Return cover page are available in the MS Word version of this 
        User Guide only.

If ADs, intends to load data into the FET-ERS package from their own computer / database for validating the transactions and generating the files, they may do so when the version 6.2 or higher.  However, they have to prepare data in a standard text file (ASCII File) with the specified structure by extracting data from their own computer or otherwise. File name should be RRETURN6.TXT. Structure of the text file with record length 256 has been specified in the annexure of this guide in MS Word file. 

It may be mentioned that, a few of the information may not be relevant for a set of transactions of certain purposes. In that case, irrelevant fields/ data items may be kept blank in the text file.  Structure of this file has been designed in such a way that, many blank fields do not appear in between two relevant fields.

Once the text file is ready, the same can be loaded into the FET-ERS version 6.2 database using the 'Load data from Text file' under 'Data-Entry' menu. While loading data from the text file, it will validate all the transaction. Only valid transactions will be loaded and invalid transactions will be copied to a different file named RRETURN6.ERR in the source data drive. Every time data are loaded, it assigns a unique code namely LOAD ID. IMPORTANT: As per the FET-ERS, Transaction Date & Serial Number together should be unique in the database. Thus, while loading data, it changes the serial number specified in the text file by adding a number, which is maximum serial number allotted on the transaction date in the database. Complete report of such loading data from text file is prepared and saved in a text file with name LOAD_ID.txt [LOAD_ID stands for actual unique identification code i.e. 04030501 for first time loading data on March 5, 2004] in the FET-ERS working directory. Details of All the records loaded can be deleted using the next menu 'Delete Data Loaded Earlier' by specifying the LOAD ID. 

With this facility, banks can merge data entered in different stand alone PCs. For this, data has to be copied from the stand alone PC using the menu 'Copy data to text file for merging' under System Maintenance'. This will create the text file RRETURN6.TXT 
Format of Text file of Rreturn6.txt for loading data into the FET-ERS Version 6.2 is given in MS Word file "FET-ERS 6 User guide"
To ensure accuracy of the format of the ASCII file generated by their interface, if necessary, ADs may contact us for guidance.

System Maintenance

The package can also be used in LAN environment. While working on LAN environment, some care has to be taken while performing system maintenance activities. Following jobs should be performed only when no other user is using the system. This is important because system maintenance jobs require exclusive access to the database files.
 
Back Up: After operationalisation of the ERS, you will need to do a few tasks to ensure smooth functioning. One of the most important task is to take regular back-up. Back-up means making a copy of the data on the hard disk to another electronic medium. Back-up is essential to protect your hard work against computer failure, data corruption, hard disk problems etc. Sometimes even accidental deletion of files may take place resulting in data loss. Therefore, it is recommended that back-up should be taken at the end of every working day. This option is provided in the system maintenance menu.  For branches with a large number of transactions, the size of database files is likely to exceed 1.44 MB in due course. In order to ensure that back-up is accommodated in one diskette, the files are compressed at the time of backup using PKZIP. 

Data Deletion: As data are entered regularly, the size of data files will grow. The records should not be deleted immediately after sending the floppy to RBI, as it may be possible that RBI may have to get back to the bank for any clarification etc. The clarification may be required at any stage in data processing till the finalisation of Balance of Payments estimates. As the ERS is not the only source of data for Balance of Payments, finalisation of estimates may take up to six months. Therefore, banks should keep last one year data in their computer files. However, earlier data should be deleted to ensure that the file size does not grow indefinitely and result in slowdown of the system. ERS has provided for deletion of old records under system maintenance menu. You will be required to enter the date up to which you want to delete the records. After entering the date, you are also required to confirm the operation to avoid any accidental deletion of data. For example, if on October 1, 1999 you have decided to delete some old records, you should decide the date up to which you want to delete. The recommended date would be September 30, 1998. On choosing data deletion option you should enter `30/09/1998'. Before pressing Y, you should check that the date is entered correctly. In order to avoid impact of any accidental deletions, you should take a back up before deleting the records. 

Restore: In case the data on the hard disk is corrupted for any reason, it may be restored from the back ups by using the relevant option in the system maintenance menu. The latest backup floppy should be used for restoring the database. At the time of restoring, the files are uncompressed using PKUNZIP.

Reindexing: For repairing the damaged index files, use reindexing option in the system maintenance menu. If you are getting messages such as "Invalid Code" even after entering correct codes under the fields currency, purpose or country, you should use the "Reindexing" option to correct the problem. 

System Configuration: Name and address of the AD branch along with its AD Code and system options to enter data for supplementary statement, ENC statement and Unclassified Receipts (inward remittances below Rs. 5,00,000) are to be entered using the system configuration option. This option is automatically invoked at the time of installation of software. If the information given at the time of installation is incomplete or needs change, the system configuration option, provided under the system maintenance menu, should be used. 

Data copying and merging: In this version, provision has been made to enter data on more than one stand-alone PC, if a branch does not have local area network (LAN). In such event, care should be taken that one of the PCs should be earmarked for maintenance of database, preparation of reports and RBI reporting. It should be ensured that data from all other PCs are merged with the data on the master PC, before preparing reports and floppy for submission to RBI. Option `Data Copying' may be used on other PCs to create floppies for loading and on the master PC, `Merge Data' option may be used. 

Frequently Asked Questions: 

How to report following transactions in FET-ERS software?

1) Advance Receipt

(a) At the time of receipt of Advance export proceeds, it should be entered using purpose code as "P0103" with indicator "1" for full/final advance and "2" for part advance with type of bill as "M". At the time of retirement of GR/PP/SOFTEX form after shipment, the same may be entered as purpose code "P0105" with the same bill number as mentioned at the time of receipt of Advance in case the bill is sent on collection for the remaining amount or if the full exports value is already received in advance so as to capture such transactions in the ENC statement. The realisation of the remaining export proceeds may be captured with purpose code "P0102". However, if the GR/PP/SOFTEX form is discounted / purchased for the remaining amount, the same may be entered as purpose code "P0101" with the bill value adjusted for advance received earlier and entering the full invoice value inclusive of the advance received earlier so as to capture the same in the ENC statement. The realisation of remaining export proceeds in that case would be captured under purpose code "P0107".

(b) While entering the advance receipt under purpose code "P0103", the package allows to skip the fields like GR/PP/SOFTEX form no., Shipping bill number and shipping bill date and the same should be captured in the system as purchase at the time when payment is received in the nostro and gets reflected in the mirror of nostro maintained in the local books. The same is not required to be reported at the time of handling of the advance payment exports documents under purpose code "P0103" as already clarified in (a) above. So, there is no question of double reporting.

(2) Bills sent on collection subsequently purchased  

The same should be entered as purpose code "P0101" so as to get accounted in R-Return as bill purchased. The bill reported earlier as collection under purpose code "P0105" in the ENC statement would be ignored while processing the data at RBI. The realisation in that case would be captured using purpose code "P0107". 

(3) Part purchase of an Export Bill

Such bills can be captured in the system under purpose code "P0101" and at the time of reporting of realisation of export proceeds, the same may be captured as purpose code "P0107" for the amount purchased earlier and purpose code "P0102" for the remaining amount. No doubt such cases would require issue of two bill numbers one as "P" type and one as "C" type irrespective of whether it is credited to EEFC a/c or not.

(4) Bills sent on collection

(a) Part export proceeds received in advance should be entered under purpose code "P0103" at the time of receipt of advance with bill type as "M" with indicator as "2". After shipment, the transaction may be captured with purpose code "P0105" so as to get accounted in ENC statement with same bill number. Realisation of remaining part may be captured with purpose code "P0102" at the time of receipt of amount with the same bill number (i.e. "M" type).

(b) If the export proceeds are received directly by the exporter through another bank in advance and that bank is applying the rate, then that bank would show such transaction as purchase under their R-Return and on the basis of Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) issued by that bank, you can release the corresponding GR form along with your R-Return mentioning about release of GR on the basis of FIRC, if the full payment is already received in advance after entering such transaction under purpose code "P0105" with bill type as "M". It may be noticed here that such transaction would not reflect in your R-Return and schedules but get reported in your ENC statement as the GR form is handled by your branch.

(5) Trouble Shooting:

In case of problem, go to system maintenance menu and try re-indexing option. In case of corruption in the data file, use restore option from system maintenance menu to restore the data files from the latest available back-up floppy and re-index the files using Re-indexing option.

(6) Must Do: 

Take Back-up on a daily basis. Preserve 3/4 versions of backup.

(7) What are the valid UN-ECE Port Code as on February 01, 2004

BOM1 : Bombay
BOM4 : Bombay  
DEL4 : Delhi
MAA1 : Chennai
MAA4 : Chennai
HYD4 : Hyderabad
BLR4 : Bangalore
CCU4 : Calcutta
VTZ4 : Vishakhapatnam
NSA1 : NavaSeva
COK1 : Cochin
MRM1 : Marmagoa
IXY1 : Kadla
PPG6 : Parparganj
TKD6 : Tuglakabad
SBI6 : Ahmedabad
TUT1 : Tuticorin
TRV4 : Trivendram
JAI4 : Jaipur 
NML1 : New Mangalore
IXE1 : Mangalore 
LDH6 : Ludhiana 
PTP8 : Petrapol

(8) What's New in Version 6.2

With the signing of General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) under World Trade Organisation (WTO) the member countries are required to disseminate the data on international trade in services as per Manual on Statistics on International Trade in Services (MSITS). Also to meet the requirement of compilation of BoP Statistics as per the guidelines under IMF Balance of Payments Manual (BOPM), 1993 (5th edition), the scope of collection of data on foreign exchange transactions have to be widened. In order to meet these national perspectives, new purpose codes have been devised under various heads of services. The new purpose codes are of 5 characters instead of 4 characters in the earlier versions of FET-ERS system. Further, in order to estimate suppliers credits upto 180 days, the date of shipment column and an indicator whether under L/C or not have been introduced for import purposes. 
Accordingly, the structure of two files layouts (viz. BOP.TXT and URS.TXT) which are submitted to RBI along with other ASCII files have undergone change. The names of these files have also been changed to BOP6.TXT and URS6.TXT so as to differentiate it from the files generated using old purpose codes under earlier versions of FET-ERS. This would not only facilitate compilation of BoP Statistics but also help in carrying out negotiation in WTO as regards trade in services by India. It may be noted that there is no change in the file layouts of ENC.TXT (84 Characters), SCH3to6.TXT (69 characters) and BANKCODE.TXT (15 characters) as the purpose fields are not part of these file layout. A new file QE.TXT (34 characters) has been added to capture cover page totals.

System Support: If you need further assistance, you may contact us on the 
following address.

The Director, 
Balance of Payments Statistics Division,
Department of Statistical Analysis and Computer Services,
Reserve Bank of India,
C - 8/9, Bandra Kurla Complex,
Bandra (E), Mumbai - 400 051
Telephone No. (022) 2657 3612 (Help Desk)
                  or (022) 2657 2513 (Director)
Fax No.           (022) 26570848 
                  or (022) 26572319 
e-mail: feters@rbi.org.in 




Relation between R-Return Report and R - Return    

Report                                                
R - Return

Import (<500000)
(Imports into India below the equivalent of Rs. 5,00,000)
Import (>500000)
(Imports into India equivalent of Rs. 5,00,000 and above)
Other than Imports (<500000)
(Other than Imports below the equivalent of Rs. 5,00,000)
Other than Imports (>500000)
(Other than Imports equivalent of Rs. 5,00,000 and above)
Imports into Oth. Coun.
(Import into Other Countries (Intermediary Trade 
supported by forms A2))
Sales to ADs in India
Sales to Reserve Bank of India
Sales to overseas banks and correspondents
Exports N/P/D bills
Purchases against GR/PP forms - (export bills Negotiated under L/C, 
Purchased or Discounted)
Collection Realised
(Purchases against GR/PP forms - (Bills for collection realised))
Advance 
(Advance exports receipts which will be later covered by GR/PP forms)
Not Covered by GR/PP
Other purchases against export (Intermediary trade not covered by GR/PP 
forms)
Other than Exports (<500000)
(Other than Exports below the equivalent of Rs. 5,00,000)
Other than Exports (>500000)
(Other than Exports equivalent of Rs. 5,00,000 and above)
Purchase from ADs in India
Purchase from Reserve Bank of India
Purchase from overseas banks and correspondents
Credit to overseas banks and correspondents
Debit from overseas banks and correspondents

