New FAQ Page 2 - ಆರ್ಬಿಐ - Reserve Bank of India
Content Type:
International Trade Settlement in Indian Rupees (INR)
Updated: ಜನವರಿ 16, 2025
Disclaimer:
These FAQs are for general guidance purpose only. In case of any inconsistency(ies) between FAQ and FEMA, 1999, Rules/Regulations/Directions/Permissions issued thereunder, the latter shall prevail.
Answer: The settlement of International trade through Indian Rupees (INR) is an additional arrangement to the existing system of settlement. SRVA requires prior approval before opening unlike Rupee Vostro account.
The legal framework for administration of foreign exchange transactions in India is provided by the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. Under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), which came into force with effect from June 1, 2000, all transactions involving foreign exchange have been classified either as capital or current account transactions. All transactions undertaken by a resident that do not alter his / her assets or liabilities, including contingent liabilities, outside India are current account transactions.
In terms of Section 5 of the FEMA, persons resident in India 1 are free to buy or sell foreign exchange for any current account transaction except for those transactions for which drawal of foreign exchange has been prohibited by Central Government, such as remittance out of lottery winnings; remittance of income from racing/riding, etc., or any other hobby; remittance for purchase of lottery tickets, banned / proscribed magazines, football pools, sweepstakes, etc.; remittance of dividend by any company to which the requirement of dividend balancing is applicable; payment of commission on exports under Rupee State Credit Route except commission up to 10% of invoice value of exports of tea and tobacco; payment of commission on exports made towards equity investment in Joint Ventures / Wholly Owned Subsidiaries abroad of Indian companies; remittance of interest income on funds held in Non-Resident Special Rupee (Account) Scheme and payment related to “call back services” of telephones.
Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transactions) Rules, 2000 - Notification [GSR No. 381(E)] dated May 3, 2000 and the revised Schedule III to the Rules as given in the Notification G.S.R. 426(E) dated May 26, 2015 is available in the Official Gazette as well as, as an Annex to our Master Direction on ‘Other Remittance Facilities’ available on our website www.rbi.org.in.
These FAQs attempt to put in place the common queries that users have on the subject in easy to understand language. However, for conducting a transaction, the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and the Regulations/Rules made or directions issued thereunder may be referred to.
Ans. An Authorised Dealer (AD) is any person specifically authorized by the Reserve Bank under Section 10(1) of FEMA, 1999, to deal in foreign exchange or foreign securities (the list of ADs is available on www.rbi.org.in) and normally includes banks.
In terms of Government of India Gazette Notification S.O. 2119 (E) dated June 26, 2020 the definition of micro, small and medium enterprises is as under:
(i) A micro enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed ₹1 crore and turnover does not exceed ₹5 crore;
(ii) A small enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed ₹10 crore and turnover does not exceed ₹50 crore; and
(iii) A medium enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed ₹50 crore and turnover does not exceed ₹250 crore.
All enterprises are required to register online on Udyam Registration Portal and obtain ‘Udyam Registration Certificate’. (Refer circulars FIDD.MSME & NFS.BC.No.3/06.02.31/2020-21 dated July 2, 2020, FIDD.MSME & NFS. BC. No.4/06.02.31/2020-21 dated August 21, 2020 FIDD.MSME & NFS.BC.No.13/06.02.31/2021-22 dated July 07, 2021)
These FAQs attempt to put in place the common queries that users have on the subject in easy to understand language. However, for conducting a transaction, the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and the Regulations made or directions issued thereunder may be referred to. The relevant Principal Regulations are the Foreign Exchange Management (Establishment in India of a branch office or a liaison office or a project office or any other place of business) Regulations, 2016 issued vide Notification No. FEMA 22(R)/2016-RB dated March 31, 2016. The directions issued are consolidated in Master Direction on Establishment of Branch Office (BO)/ Liaison Office (LO)/ Project Office (PO) or any other place of business in India by foreign entities.
Ans. In case the designated AD Category I bank notices any adverse findings by the auditor in respect of LO/BO or the LO/BO is defaulting in submission of AACs, then the same should be immediately reported to the Reserve Bank.
(Ref.No.DoS.CO.ARG/SEC.01/08.91.001/2021-22 April 27, 2021)
The Circular dated April 27, 2021 on ‘Guidelines for Appointment of Statutory Central Auditors (SCAs)/Statutory Auditors (SAs) of Commercial Banks (excluding RRBs), UCBs and NBFCs (including HFCs), has been issued by RBI with the basic objectives of putting in place ownership-neutral regulations, ensuring independence of auditors, avoiding conflict of interest in auditor’s appointments and to improve the quality and standards of audit in RBI Regulated Entities. These guidelines will also help in streamlining the procedure for appointment of Statutory Auditors across all the Regulated Entities and ensure that appointments are made in a timely, transparent and effective manner.
In view of certain clarifications being sought in the matter, it has been decided to publish Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and the necessary clarifications, as given below:
The Group Entities refer to the RBI Regulated Entities in the Group, which fulfill the definition of Group Entity, as provided in the Circular1. However, if an audit firm engaged with audit/non-audit works for the Group Entities (which are not regulated by RBI) is being considered by any of the RBI Regulated Entities in the Group for appointment as SCAs/SAs, it would be the responsibility of the Board/ACB/LMC of the concerned RBI Regulated Entity to ensure that there is no conflict of interest and independence of auditors is ensured, and this should be suitably recorded in the minutes of the meetings of Board/ACB/LMC.
Ans: The phrase ‘largely by use of seamless digital technologies’ has been used in the Digital Lending definition to accord operational flexibility to REs in ‘Digital Lending’. Therefore, even if some physical interface with customer is present, the lending will still fall under the definition of Digital Lending. However, while doing so, the REs should ensure that the intent behind the Guidelines is adhered to.
Ans: As mentioned under Chapter II of the Master Directions, the coverage and periodicity of reviews conducted by SCBMF / CoE shall be decided by the Board of the REs. Accordingly, the threshold amount of fraud cases to be placed before the SCBMF / CoE shall be decided by the Board of the REs, after duly taking into account the scale and complexity of their operations.
Answer: A ‘Non-resident Indian’ (NRI) is a person resident outside India who is a citizen of India.
ANS: UDGAM refers to Unclaimed Deposits-Gateway to Access inforMation, which is an online portal developed by RBI. It facilitates the registered users to search unclaimed deposits/accounts across multiple banks at one place in a centralised manner.
General Instructions
The Reserve Bank’s survey on Foreign Liabilities and Assets (FLA) of Mutual Fund (MF) companies and their Asset Management Companies (AMCs) in India is conducted annually. It collects the information from MF companies and AMCs on their external financial liabilities and assets as at end-March of the latest financial year (FY). The information collected from this survey are used in the compilation of India’s Balance of Payments (BoP), International Investment Position (IIP) and other related external sector statistics which provide comprehensive account of the country’s international financial transactions and exposures, in a globally comparable statistical framework.
Confidentiality Clause: The Reserve Bank releases the survey results only at the aggregate level and the institution-wise data furnished in the schedule are kept confidential.
Note: The respondent company should fill-up the survey schedule in excel format (*.xls format), which is available on RBI website. Respondents are requested to read the instruction sheet (available in survey schedule) carefully before filling the survey schedule.
Important Points: The respondent company should follow the below-mentioned points while filling and submitting the survey schedule:
(i) The company must use the latest survey schedule, which is in .xls format, without incorporating any macros.
(ii) The company is required to save the survey schedule in Excel 97-2003 workbook, i.e., in .xls format by following the below-mentioned steps:
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Go to Office Button / File → Save As → Save As type
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Select “Excel 97-2003 Workbook” and save the survey schedule in .xls format.
(iii) The company is requested not to incorporate any macro in the survey schedule while submitting the same.
(iv) Survey schedule submitted in any other format (other than .xls format) will be rejected by the system.
(v) Ensure that all information furnished in the survey schedule are complete and no information is missed out.
(vi) After filling sections I and II, the company has to fill the declaration sheet, which helps in validating that the information entered by the company are reconfirmed before submission to RBI. This helps to avoid data entry errors, missed data and other errors.
Ans.: The RBI launches the MF survey during the month of June every year with previous financial year ended end-March as the reference date.
Ans. KYC is a process by which a Regulated Entity (RE), including a bank, obtains information on identity and address of the customer, nature of business and financial status of a customer and, verifies the same. This process helps to ensure that an RE is aware of the customer it is dealing with, and the services provided by the RE are not misused for Money Laundering/ Terrorist Financing/ Proliferation Financing (ML/TF/PF) purposes.
The Reserve Bank conducts the survey on Computer Software & Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) Exports annually. The survey collects information from software and ITES/BPO/LLPs exporting companies on their computer software and IT enabled services exports as at end-March of the latest Financial Year (FY).
The survey results are released in the public domain to raise the confidence of the international financial system in the country's economy besides being used for compilation of related external sector statistics which provide comprehensive account of the country’s international financial transactions and exposures, in a globally comparable statistical framework.
Confidentiality Clause: The company-wise information provided will be kept confidential and only consolidated aggregates will be released by the Reserve Bank.
Note: The respondent companies/LLPs/proprietorship firm should fill-up the survey schedule in excel format (*.xls format), which is available on RBI website. Respondents are requested to read the Instruction sheet (available in survey schedule) carefully before filling the survey schedule.
Important Points: The respondent companies/LLPs/proprietorship firm should follow the below-mentioned points for filling and submitting the survey schedule:
i. The company must use the latest survey schedule, which is in .xls format, without incorporating any macros.
ii. The company is required to save the survey schedule in Excel 97-2003 workbook, i.e., in .xls format by following the below-mentioned steps:
-
Go to Office Button / File → Save As → Save As type
-
Select “Excel 97-2003 Workbook” and Save the survey schedule in .xls format.
iii. The company is requested not to incorporate any macro in the survey schedule while submitting the same.
iv. Survey schedule submitted in any other format (other than .xls format) will be rejected by the system.
v. Ensure that all information furnished in the survey schedule are complete and no information is missed out.
vi. After filling Part - A to D, the company has to fill the declaration sheet, which helps in validating that the information entered by the company are reconfirmed before submission to RBI. This helps to avoid data entry errors, missed data and other errors.
vii. Respondents are requested to not use any special characters i.e., [!@#$%^&*_()] and comma while data filing in Question 3 to 9.
Ans.: The RBI launches the ITES survey during the month of June every year with the previous financial year end-March as the reference date.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) integrated its three erstwhile Ombudsman Schemes viz. (i) the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006, (ii) the Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies, 2018, and (iii) the Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, 2019, into one Scheme - ‘The Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021 (the Scheme / RB-IOS, 2021)’ with effect from November 12, 2021. The Scheme simplifies the grievance redress process at RBI by enabling the customers of Regulated Entities (REs) like banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), Payment System Participants (PSPs) and Credit Information Companies to register their complaints at one centralised reference point. The objective of the Scheme is to resolve the customer grievances involving ‘deficiency in service’ on part of REs in a speedy, cost-effective and satisfactory manner. These FAQs provide information on RB-IOS, 2021 and related aspects.
The Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021 (RB-IOS, 2021/ the Scheme) was launched on November 12, 2021. It integrates the erstwhile three Ombudsman schemes of RBI namely, (i) the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006; (ii) the Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies, 2018; and (iii) the Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, 2019. These schemes had limited and different grounds of complaints and limited coverage of REs, apart from jurisdiction related restrictions. RB-IOS, 2021 provides for cost-free redress of customer complaints involving deficiency in services rendered by entities regulated by RBI, if not resolved to the satisfaction of the customers or not replied to within a period of 30 days by the RE.
In addition to integrating the three existing schemes, the Scheme also includes under its ambit additional REs, namely, Non-Scheduled Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks with a deposit size of ₹50 crore and above and Credit Information Companies. The Scheme adopts ‘One Nation One Ombudsman’ approach by making the RBI’s Ombudsman mechanism jurisdiction neutral.
Ans: The circular is applicable to all equated periodic instalment based personal loans only. The circular is not applicable to other types of loans. The Reserve Bank circular DBR.No.BP.BC.99/08.13.100/2017-18 on “XBRL Returns – Harmonization of Banking Statistics” dated January 04, 2018 may be referred for the definition of personal loans.
(Usage of e₹ is currently being pilot tested in the form of some studies in the country. The pilot is being tried in the Retail (public) and Wholesale (bank and other institutions) segments.
Ans: Digital Rupee or e₹, is India’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). It is the digital form of India’s physical currency, the Rupee (₹). e₹ is issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in digital form and offers features similar to physical cash like convenience of use, guarantee of RBI, finality of settlement, etc. e₹ is stored in the user’s digital wallet and can be used to receive / send money, and / or make payment for transactions, just like any physical ₹ note.
The logo and tagline for India’s CBDC is as under:
[Guidelines on Default Loss Guarantee in Digital Lending were issued vide Circular DOR.CRE.REC.21/21.07.001/2023-24 dated June 08, 2023]
Ans: The portfolio over which DLG can be offered shall consist of identifiable and measurable loan assets which have been sanctioned (the ‘DLG set’). This portfolio will remain fixed for the purpose of DLG cover and is not meant to be dynamic. Kindly see illustrations at the end.
Response: Card issuers are prohibited from issuing unsolicited credit cards and are required to seek prior and explicit consent from the customer before issuing a card. However, if the customer receives an unsolicited card, he/she should refrain from activating or providing consent for activation of card through OTP or any other means. If no consent is received for activating the card, the card-issuer is required to close the credit card account without any cost to the customer within seven working days from the date of seeking confirmation from the customer and shall also intimate the customer that the credit card account has been closed. Subsequent to receiving the intimation from the card-issuer that the card account has been closed, the customer shall destroy the card. Further, the customer may file a complaint with the card-issuer against the issuance of unsolicited card and escalate it to the RBI Ombudsman as per Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (please refer to the response of query 17 below).
ಭಾರತೀಯ ರಿಸರ್ವ್ ಬ್ಯಾಂಕ್ ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ಅಪ್ಲಿಕೇಶನ್ ಅನ್ನು ಇನ್ಸ್ಟಾಲ್ ಮಾಡಿ ಮತ್ತು ಇತ್ತೀಚಿನ ಸುದ್ದಿಗಳಿಗೆ ತ್ವರಿತ ಅಕ್ಸೆಸ್ ಪಡೆಯಿರಿ!
