Facility sharing arrangements allowed under FDI policy if arm's length pricing and lease income remains proportionally low.
Facility sharing agreements between group companies through leasing/sub leasing arrangements for business purposes will not be treated as real estate business under the Consolidated FDI Policy provided such arrangements are at arm's length in accordance with applicable tax pricing standards and annual lease rent earned by the lessor company does not exceed a small proportion of its total revenue.

Rupee denominated trade credit authorized with specified tenors and bank safeguards for import finance.
Notification permits resident importers to raise Rupee (INR) denominated trade credit from overseas lenders under a loan agreement for imports (except gold). Tenors: non capital goods up to one year from shipment or the operating cycle, capital goods up to five years; no roll overs beyond permitted periods. AD Category - I banks may approve trade credit subject to a per transaction ceiling of USD 20 million equivalent, may provide guarantees/LOUs/letters of comfort for up to three years, and must ensure all in costs are market commensurate. Overseas lenders may hedge Rupee exposure in the on shore market through permitted derivatives; hedging guidelines to follow.

Authorisation for Additional Branches: simplified document requirements allow declarations in lieu of several prior submissions.
Applicants for authorisation of additional FFMC/AD Cat. II branches may submit a proprietor/partner/director/CFO certificate on Net Owned Funds instead of audited-account certificates; confidential banker reports are dispensed with; declarations about pending enforcement proceedings remain required; KYC/AML/CFT policy and internal control write-ups need only be refiled if changed, otherwise a declaration of no change suffices. The revisions take effect immediately and are issued under foreign exchange regulatory powers without prejudice to other legal permissions.

EEFC account reporting requirement dispensed; banks need not file quarterly loan statements but must observe other approvals.
Authorized Dealer Category I banks are no longer required to submit quarterly statements for loans and advances from Exchange Earners' Foreign Currency (EEFC) accounts; this procedural reporting requirement is dispensed with immediately, while the directions are issued under statutory foreign exchange powers and remain without prejudice to permissions or approvals required under other laws.

Special Currency Basket revision: AD Category I banks must apply the revised rupee valuation under FEMA directions.
The circular notifies Authorised Dealer Category I banks of a revision to the Rupee value of the Special Currency Basket under the Deferred Payment Protocols, specifies the new rupee value and its effective date, directs banks to inform their constituents, and states that the directions are issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, without prejudice to other statutory permissions.

Foreign direct investment reporting enabled online on the e Biz platform; banks to verify FCTRS filings for UIN processing.
Foreign direct investment reporting via FCTRS is enabled on the e-Biz portal: residents download, digitally sign and upload returns; Authorised Dealer Category I banks must download, verify, request further information if needed, and upload verified forms for RBI processing and allotment of the Unique Identification Number. The online facility is supplementary to existing manual reporting and requires AD access to the e-Biz portal through NIC provided VPN accounts.

Line of credit requires a substantial portion of contract value to be sourced from India and EDF/SDF declarations.
Exim Bank's Government of India supported Line of Credit to Myanma Foreign Trade Bank finances an Indian eligible export contract for a microwave radio link, requiring a substantial portion of contract value to be supplied from India while remaining goods and services (other than consultancy) may be procured abroad. The agreement is effective from July 27, 2015; shipment declarations must be made on EDF/SDF forms. No agency commission is payable under the LOC, although exporters may remit commission from their own funds or EEFC balances after full payment, subject to AD Category I bank compliance with prevailing rules.

Line of Credit conditions require predominant Indian supply content and EDF/SDF shipment declarations, with restricted commission rules.
Government-supported Line of Credit finances a veterinary pharmaceutical plant with a requirement that at least 75% of contract value for goods and services, including consultancy, be supplied from India and up to 25% of non-consultancy goods may be procured externally. Disbursement windows differ for project exports and other supply contracts; shipments must be declared on EDF/SDF forms. No agency commission under the LOC, though exporters may use own funds or EEFC balances for commission subject to realization and remittance rules. AD Category I banks must notify exporters; Directions issued under FEMA.

Composite foreign investment caps aggregate all foreign holdings and count equity from debt conversions within sectoral limits.
A composite cap aggregates all types of foreign investment-direct and indirect-under the sectoral/statutory ceiling, including holdings across FEMA schedules; FCCBs and DRs constituting debt are excluded, but any equity arising from conversion of debt is counted as foreign investment. Total foreign investment in an entity shall not exceed the sectoral cap, portfolio investments remain subject to specified limits and procedural approvals, and the investee company bears responsibility for compliance. These amendments are effective immediately and read with the Consolidated FDI Policy Circular of 2015.

FPI maturity rule: SRs by ARCs exempt from residual maturity restriction, subject to overall corporate debt limits.
The minimum residual maturity restriction for FPI investment in corporate bonds does not apply to security receipts issued by Asset Reconstruction Companies; such investments must, however, remain within the overall corporate debt limit. All other conditions for FPI debt-market investment remain unchanged, the clarification is effective immediately, and further operational guidelines may be issued by the securities regulator.

Export factoring on non-recourse basis permitted for banks, subject to due diligence, invoice notation and reporting.
Authorised Dealer Category I banks may provide export factoring on a non recourse basis subject to conditions: ensure genuine invoices and no over financing by determining working capital against factored invoice values; remit net realisations to financing banks if not financing; complete KYC and due diligence; arrange for Import Factor credit evaluation and collection or obtain correspondent bank credit evaluation in single factor cases; annotate invoices directing payment to the Import Factor; close factored export bills and report them in EDPMS.

Issue of employee stock options to non-residents allowed with sectoral cap compliance and required approvals and reporting.
Indian companies may issue employees' stock options and/or sweat equity shares to non-resident employees or directors, including those of a holding company, joint venture or wholly owned overseas subsidiaries, provided schemes comply with securities or company rules, issuances observe applicable sectoral caps, FIPB approval is obtained where the company is under the approval route or recipients are citizens of Bangladesh or Pakistan, and the issuing company files Form ESOP with the Reserve Bank within thirty days while furnishing prescribed certificates and valuation evidence.

Government-backed line of credit imposes India-origin supply requirements and RBI reporting for project exports and supplies.
Exim Bank's Government-supported Line of Credit to Djibouti for the Ali Sabieh Cement Project conditions financing on exports eligible under India's Foreign Trade Policy, requiring at least 75% India supplied value for goods and services (including consultancy) and permitting up to 25% of goods and services (other than consultancy) from outside India. The agreement (executed March 9, 2015; effective June 5, 2015) sets final dates for letters of credit and disbursement, mandates EDF/SDF shipment declarations, disallows agency commission under the LOC while permitting exporter-funded commission subject to AD Category I bank controls, and is issued under FEMA directions.

FDI restriction in tobacco manufacturing clarified; non manufacturing activities remain subject to sectoral FDI policy.
FDI is prohibited only in the manufacturing of specified tobacco and tobacco-substitute products under Annex A of Schedule I to the FEMA Regulations; the prohibition does not extend to other activities such as wholesale cash-and-carry or retail trading, which are governed by sectoral FDI policy and Schedule I of the FEMA Regulations. AD Category-I banks should inform their constituents; directions are issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act and are without prejudice to other required permissions.

Re-export exemption for unsold rough diamonds - EDF not required when re-exported directly from a Special Notified Zone.
Unsold rough diamonds imported free of cost into a Special Notified Zone and re exported from the SNZ without entering the Domestic Tariff Area are not required to submit an Export Declaration Form. Entry into the SNZ must be accompanied by a notional value invoice and packing list indicating the free of cost nature; such consignments must not enter the DTA. Buyers clearing lots at the Precious Cargo Customs Clearance Centre must file the Bill of Entry, and Authorised Dealers may allow payments after satisfying themselves of the transaction's bona fides and keeping transaction records.

Foreign contribution compliance: banks must ensure registration, single-account receipt and report transactions through the prescribed online system.
Banks must ensure recipients of foreign contribution are registered or hold prior permission, receive such contribution only in a single account at a specified branch, and must not accept non-foreign funds into that account. Every bank or authorised person in foreign exchange must report prescribed details of foreign remittances (donor, recipient, account, bank/branch, manner and date of receipt) to the Central Government in the prescribed form and manner, including compulsory online submission through the MHA software and reporting within thirty days of relevant transactions.

Foreign investment in India: consolidated RBI master circular sets routes, instruments, pricing, caps and mandatory reporting.
The Master Circular consolidates FEMA/RBI rules on foreign investment in India, setting the two entry routes (Automatic Route and Government Route), eligible investors, permissible instruments, pricing and valuation standards, permitted modes of payment (including inward remittance, NRE/FCNR debits, conversion of ECBs and escrow), sectoral caps and prohibited activities, rules for calculating total foreign investment (direct and indirect/downstream), and detailed reporting and compliance obligations including Form FC GPR, Form FC TRS and annual FLA returns within prescribed timelines.

Export Realization and Repatriation: RBI rules require banks to ensure timely repatriation and reporting of export proceeds.
Consolidates RBI rules under FEMA governing export of goods and services, prescribing AD Category I bank duties on EDF and SOFTEX procedures, KYC/AML checks, timelines for realization and repatriation of export proceeds, permitted foreign currency accounts (including EEFC and Diamond Dollar Accounts), and reporting via EDPMS. It details advance payment and long term export advance conditions, third party payments, consignment, netting/set off, export factoring, and special provisions for SEZs, project/service exports, trade fairs and re exports, alongside mechanisms for extensions, write offs and supervisory audits.

Import regulation under foreign exchange rules: banks must verify compliance, documentary evidence, and safeguards before permitting remittances.
The Circular consolidates FEMA and RBI directions governing imports, requiring AD Category I banks to ensure compliance with the Foreign Trade Policy, KYC/AML norms and documentary practice when permitting remittances. It prescribes advance remittance safeguards (bank guarantees/standby LCs or waivers for sectoral exceptions), time limits and tenor restrictions for import credits, tiered evidence of import requirements based on remittance value, and reporting, verification and preservation obligations for AD banks, with special rules for precious metals, diamonds, merchanting trade and online payment gateway transactions.

External Commercial Borrowings: consolidated RBI framework sets routes, eligibility, permitted end uses and compliance requirements for overseas borrowings.
Consolidated RBI framework governs resident access to overseas funding via External Commercial Borrowings and Trade Credits under two routes - Automatic and Approval - defining eligible borrowers, recognised lenders, ceilings on amounts and minimum average maturities, all in cost limits, permitted and prohibited end uses, security and guarantee rules, parking of proceeds, prepayment/refinance criteria, reporting (Form 83, ECB 2) and delegated powers to Authorised Dealer Category I banks, with compliance obligations and FEMA enforcement measures.