Collateral eligibility for FIIs expanded to include corporate and government bonds and AAA sovereign securities for trading collateral.
FIIs may offer corporate bonds as collateral in the cash segment, and government securities and corporate bonds as collateral in the F&O segment; FIIs may also offer cash and foreign sovereign securities with AAA ratings as collateral in both segments, with SEBI to issue operational guidelines, pursuant to Schedule 5 of the FEMA Transfer or Issue of Security Regulations and directions under the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

KYC/AML/CFT compliance: revised MTSS guidelines require strict due diligence and reporting for inward remittances and collateral norms.
The revised MTSS guidelines under FEMA permit only inward personal remittances to individual beneficiaries via authorised Indian Agents tied to Overseas Principals, prescribe selective authorisation criteria (eligible applicant types, minimum Net Owned Funds, documentation, collateral), impose limits on cash disbursements and per beneficiary receipts, require Indian Agents to supervise Sub Agents, and mandate comprehensive KYC/AML/CFT controls and CTR/STR reporting under the PMLA, with ten year record retention and RBI inspection powers.

Write-off of unrealized export bills permitted within prescribed limits, subject to eligibility, documentation, and surrender of incentives.
Write-off of unrealized export bills is permitted for exporters and AD Category I banks within prescribed limits tied to total export proceeds realised in the previous calendar year, subject to conditions including a one year outstanding period, documentary proof of recovery efforts, enumerated eligibility categories (buyer insolvency, untraceability, destruction/auction of goods, embassy assisted settlements, undrawn small balances, disproportionate legal costs, dishonour of adjustment bills), and surrender of proportionate export incentives where applicable; AD banks must obtain evidence, report write-offs to the Reserve Bank, conduct audit checks, and refer exceptional cases to the regional office.

External Commercial Borrowings access allowed under Automatic route despite pending investigations, with mandated agency notification upon approval.
ECB policy now permits entities under investigation, adjudication, or appeal to avail ECB under the Automatic route subject to existing ECB norms; AD Category - I banks must, when approving and where the borrower has disclosed pending proceedings, endorse the approval letter to the concerned agencies, and the Reserve Bank will follow the same practice. All other Automatic route conditions, including eligible borrowers, recognised lenders, end-use, cost ceilings, maturity, prepayment, refinancing and reporting obligations, remain unchanged.

Foreign exchange exposure limits revised requiring board approved NOOP limits and prohibition on netting between exchange and OTC positions.
Revised guidelines establish dual exposure limits for Authorised Dealers: a Net Overnight Open Position Limit (NOOPL) for capital charge and a NOP INR for exchange rate management. NOOPL is board set subject to a capital related cap; positions are measured per currency by aggregating net spot, forward and delta equivalent options, PV adjusted using an approved yield curve and combined by the shorthand method. Offshore exposures are calculated standalone and aggregated with onshore exposures for reporting. Exchange positions cannot be netted with OTC positions and ALCO/Internal Audit must monitor compliance and maintain audit trails.

Speed Remittance Procedure extended to FATF compliant exchange houses, permitting medical and hotel inward remittances through AD banks.
Extension of the Rupee Drawing Arrangements under the Speed Remittance Procedure to Exchange Houses in all FATF compliant jurisdictions, allowing AD Category I banks to receive inward remittances through those Exchange Houses. Permitted transactions are amended to include payments to Indian medical institutions for treatment of NRIs/their dependents and nationals of FATF compliant countries, and payments to hotels by nationals of FATF compliant countries and NRIs. Other earlier instructions remain unchanged and banks must notify constituents; directions are issued under the foreign exchange statute without prejudice to other legal approvals.

Change of SLBC convenor bank: responsibility for Jharkhand moves to Bank of India; incumbent to assist transition.
The circular mandates transfer of SLBC convenor responsibility for Jharkhand to Bank of India effective April 1, 2013, and requires the existing convenor bank to extend necessary support to the new convenor to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of state-level banking coordination.

Beneficial owner identification under PMLA requires verifying natural persons controlling clients, including trusts, with listed company exceptions.
Identification of the beneficial owner under PMLA Rules requires banks and financial institutions to determine and verify the natural person who ultimately owns or controls a client. For non-individual clients, institutions must identify persons exercising control through ownership or, if unclear, by other means; failing that, the senior managing official is identified. For trusts, settlor, trustee, protector, significant beneficiaries and any natural person exercising ultimate control must be identified. Listed companies and their majority-owned subsidiaries need not have shareholders or beneficial owners identified. NBFCs must review KYC policies accordingly.

Know Your Customer obligations require banks to maintain updated risk based customer profiles and robust transaction monitoring.
Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks must implement KYC/AML/CFT measures, establish periodic reviews for risk categorisation, update customer identification data, and maintain customer profiles to enable effective transaction monitoring and prevent use of banking channels for unlawful activity.

Beneficial owner identification required: authorised persons must verify ultimate owners, control tests, and extend duties to agents.
Authorised Persons in money changing activities must identify and verify the beneficial owner of clients by determining the natural person who ultimately owns or controls the client through ownership or other means; where no such person is identifiable, verification must target those exercising control by other means or senior managing officials. Trusts require identification of settlors, trustees, protectors, significant beneficiaries and any natural person exercising ultimate control. Listed companies and their majority owned subsidiaries are exempt from shareholder/beneficial owner identification. Agents and franchisees are bound by the same obligations, and franchisers must ensure their compliance.

Trade credit usance limit for precious and semi-precious stones set to short-term from shipment; AD banks must enforce.
Suppliers' and Buyers' Credit including the usance period of Letters of Credit for import of precious and semi precious stones shall not exceed ninety days from the date of shipment, with immediate effect; AD Category I banks must apply the limit and inform their constituents, while prior instructions on related metal and diamond imports remain unaffected.

Non Resident Ordinary Rupee account opening allowed for Bangladeshi individuals subject to visa, residential permit and quarterly reporting.
Authorised banks may open Non-Resident Ordinary Rupee (NRO) accounts for individuals of Bangladesh nationality without Reserve Bank approval provided the bank verifies a valid visa and residential permit from the relevant FRO/FRRO, maintains branch-level records, and the Head Office submits quarterly reports to the Under Secretary (Foreigners), Ministry of Home Affairs with specified personal, travel, permit and branch contact details.

Permitted transactions for Vostro accounts now include specified medical and hotel payments by certain non-resident nationals.
Two items in Part (B) of Annex I to the A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 28 are modified: Vostro accounts may be used for payments to Indian medical institutions and hospitals for treatment of NRIs/their dependents and nationals of Gulf countries, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia; and for payments to hotels by nationals of those jurisdictions and by NRIs for their stay. All other instructions in the referenced circular remain unchanged, and AD Category I banks must inform their constituents. Directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Foreign investment limits increased for FIIs in government securities and corporate debt, easing maturity and lock in requirements.
The circular raises FII investment ceilings in Government securities and corporate debt, increases the sub limit available to FIIs and long term investors for dated government securities while removing the prior residual maturity condition (subject to exclusion of short term Treasury Bills), expands overall corporate debt limits with sectoral sub limits and exclusions for CDs/CPs, preserves a separate QFI corporate debt ceiling above the revised limit, and relaxes lock in and residual/original maturity conditions for infrastructure and QFI investments.

Access to foreign exchange market permitted without requiring prior exhaustion of EEFC balances, applying to RFC and Diamond Dollar accounts.
Dispenses with the prior requirement that EEFC account holders must fully utilise available EEFC balances before accessing the foreign exchange market; the change also applies to RFC (Domestic) and Diamond Dollar accounts, while all other terms and conditions of the earlier circulars remain unchanged and Authorized Dealer Category I banks are to notify their constituents.

ECB eligibility expansion to hotel sector allows rupee loan repayment and rupee capital expenditure via ECBs; AD banks to certify project cost.
The ECB policy is amended to include hotel sector companies meeting the prescribed project cost threshold as eligible to avail ECBs for repayment of outstanding Rupee loans and for fresh Rupee capital expenditure; AD Category-I banks must certify project cost when forwarding ECB applications. All other aspects of the existing scheme remain unchanged, the amendment is effective immediately and issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

Line of credit for export financing sets Indian content and agency commission rules, with required regulatory approval procedures.
A line of credit from Export Import Bank of India to the Nigerian Export Import Bank finances eligible exports from India, requiring at least ninety per cent of contract value to be supplied from India, with specified effective dates and cut offs for letters of credit and disbursements. Shipments must be declared on GR/SDF forms. Agency commission is ordinarily not payable under the LOC, but commissions up to five percent for exports requiring after sales services may be approved subject to prior regulatory approval and must be deducted from invoices, with the reimbursable amount limited to ninety per cent of invoice value; exporters may otherwise use own funds or EEFC balances for commission payments.

Foreign exchange reporting obligations: authorised dealers must ensure timely, accurate FDI/ECB/ODI filings or face regulatory penalties.
Authorised Dealers must ensure accurate and timely reporting of FDI, ECB and ODI transactions, including obtaining LRNs for ECB drawdowns, filing ODI forms and UINs, submitting Annual Performance Reports and share certificates, and making prescribed FDI filings, because failures by ADs have caused a substantial portion of FEMA contraventions; the Reserve Bank may require information and impose penalties for non compliance, so ADs must strengthen internal controls and reporting systems.

Line of Credit conditions govern export financing and Indian sourcing requirements under the Exim Bank-Swaziland agreement.
Exim Bank extended a Line of Credit to Swaziland to finance eligible Indian exports for agriculture, mandating that at least seventy five percent of contract value for goods and non consultancy services be supplied from India while up to twenty five percent may be procured abroad; exports must comply with the Foreign Trade Policy and shipments declared on GR/SDF forms. The LOC disallows agency commission from the credit but permits exporter funded commission remittances subject to AD Category I bank compliance with prevailing rules. Directions are issued under FEMA without prejudice to other statutory approvals.

Foreign Direct Investment: conversion of capital goods imports into equity permitted under government route; second-hand machinery excluded.
The circular permits issuance of equity or preference shares under the Government route by conversion of imports of capital goods, but revises conditions to exclude second hand machineries from eligible imports; independent third party valuation, preferably from the country of import and supported by customs documentation, is required to assess the fair value. All other prior conditions remain unchanged and Authorised Dealer Category I banks must inform customers; the amendment is notified under the foreign exchange regulatory framework and does not affect other statutory permissions.