Trade credit limit for gold imports restricted to short-term usance from shipment under FEMA-authorised directions.
Suppliers' and Buyers' credit, including the usance period of Letters of Credit opened for import of gold in any form, including jewellery and items studded with diamonds or other precious/semi precious stones, shall not exceed ninety days from the date of shipment. Authorised Dealer Category I banks must apply this short term trade credit restriction, notify customers, and continue to follow existing circulars on related precious metal and diamond imports; the directions are issued under Section 10(4) and Section 11(1) of FEMA, 1999.

KYC AML obligations require specified non cash payment methods for authorised persons selling foreign exchange to customers.
The circular clarifies that for sale of foreign exchange within a person's eligibility, Authorised Persons may accept payment only by crossed cheque on the sponsoring firm's bank account, banker's cheque, pay order, demand draft, debit card, credit card or prepaid card where the rupee payment exceeds the specified threshold; for multiple drawals within the permitted period, second and subsequent payments must be by these specified non cash instruments when the cumulative rupee payment exceeds the threshold.

Foreign investment policy sets sectoral FDI limits and routes for retail, aviation, broadcasting and power exchanges.
The circular revises sectoral FDI entry and ownership ceilings: 100% FDI by a single non resident in Single Brand Product Retail Trading under the Government route; 51% in Multi Brand Retail Trading under the Government route; 49% foreign airline ownership in Indian aviation companies under the automatic/Government route; reviewed FDI parameters for Broadcasting Carriage Services under automatic/Government route; and 49% in Power Exchanges registered under CERC regulations under the Government route. AD Category I banks are to notify customers; Press Notes are enclosed and FEMA amendments will be notified separately.

Foreign investment in power exchanges limited under split FDI and FII caps, with FDI requiring government approval.
Foreign investment in Power Exchanges registered under the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Power Market) Regulations, 2010 is permitted up to 49% of paid-up capital, subject to a split between FDI and FII, with FDI requiring government approval, FII permitted under the automatic route and restricted to secondary market purchases; no non resident investor or persons acting in concert may hold more than the specified individual equity threshold, and all investment must comply with SEBI regulations, other applicable laws and security conditionalities.

Foreign investment limits in broadcasting: higher caps with phased automatic and government approval routes plus strict security conditions.
Policy raises foreign investment caps for specified broadcasting carriage services, distinguishing an automatic route for investment up to a lower threshold and a Government route for investment beyond that threshold up to the revised cap. The definition of foreign investment includes FDI and other foreign instruments (FIIs, NRIs, FCCBs, ADRs, GDRs, convertible preference shares). Companies with foreign investment must satisfy national security and personnel conditions-majority Indian directors, Indian residency for key executives, mandatory security clearances and prior Ministry permission for key appointments and board changes-and comply with monitoring, interception, data localization and inspection obligations set by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

Foreign airlines equity participation limited to minority stake under government approval route, subject to SEBI, security and control conditions.
The policy permits foreign airlines to invest in Indian companies operating scheduled and non scheduled air transport services up to a minority equity ceiling under the government approval route; the ceiling subsumes FDI and FII, requires compliance with SEBI's ICDR and SAST regulations, and imposes security clearances for foreign nationals and clearances for any imported technical equipment. A Scheduled Operator's Permit remains conditioned on Indian registration, principal place of business in India, specified Indian majority on the board, and substantial ownership and effective control vested in Indian nationals; the policy excludes the designated national carrier.

FDI in multi brand retail: permitted under government route with conditions on minimum investment, local sourcing and backend infrastructure.
The Government permits FDI up to 51% in Multi Brand Retail Trading under the Government route, subject to conditions: a prescribed minimum foreign investment threshold; mandated investment of a specified portion of total FDI into defined back end infrastructure within a set period (excluding land costs and rentals); a local procurement obligation from Indian small industries based on installation time investment valuation; investor self certification with auditor certified accounts; outlet location restrictions tied to city population and master/zonal plans; government first right on agricultural procurement; prohibition of e commerce retailing by FDI owned multi brand retailers; and requirement of State consent and central processing before approval.

Single-brand retail FDI: exclusive non-resident licensee requirement and mandatory domestic sourcing, with e-commerce barred.
Amendment to the Single-Brand Product Retail Trading FDI policy permits 100% FDI with government approval but requires that only one non-resident entity, whether brand owner or licensee, undertake single-brand retailing for a specific brand through a legally tenable agreement; the Indian operating company must ensure compliance and submit the licensing agreement. FDI beyond a majority threshold requires domestic sourcing of thirty per cent of goods' value, preferably from MSMEs and related suppliers, self-certified and auditable, initially averaged over five years and thereafter annually. E-commerce retailing by FDI-backed single-brand companies is prohibited.

Prior approval for foreign offices in India required; project offices allowed with Indian contract, NGOs need government-route clearance.
Foreign persons must obtain prior regulatory approval to establish Liaison, Branch or Project Offices in India; project offices may be opened under general permission only where a contract with an Indian company exists and prescribed conditions are met. Foreign NGOs, non-profit entities and foreign government bodies are governed by the Government Route and must apply to the Reserve Bank for prior permission. Authorised Dealer Category I banks are to notify their constituents, and these directions operate alongside any other statutory approvals that may be necessary.

Cost reduction structures allowed to hedge exchange rate risk for trade, external commercial borrowings and specified domestic loans.
Permits use of cost reduction structures in OTC foreign exchange derivatives to hedge exchange rate risk for trade transactions, External Commercial Borrowings, and extends that permission to foreign currency loans availed domestically against FCNR(B) deposits, with regulatory amendments to the FEMA derivative regulations to be notified separately.

Overseas direct investment reporting requirement: annual APR submission by Indian parties based on audited accounts to authorised dealers.
Indian parties that have established or acquired overseas JVs or WOSs must submit an Annual Performance Report (APR) in Form ODI Part III to their designated Authorised Dealer annually, prepared on the basis of the latest audited annual accounts of the JV/WOS unless the Reserve Bank exempts them; the prior conditional exemption permitting APRs based on un audited accounts continues, and AD Category I banks should notify constituents.

Extended trade credit permitted for infrastructure importers up to five years, subject to contracting and documentation conditions.
AD Category I banks may approve trade credit for import of capital goods with extended maturities for infrastructure sector borrowers up to five years if the credit is contracted ab initio for at least fifteen months and is not a short term rollover; AD banks may not issue Letters of Credit/guarantees/LoU/LoC for the extended period beyond three years. The circular sets all in cost ceilings linked to the relevant benchmark for different maturity bands and affirms unchanged applicability of other trade credit rules.

Bridge finance refinancing under automatic route permitted for infrastructure imports, subject to verification and ECB compliance requirements.
Refinancing of bridge finance in the form of buyers' or suppliers' credit for infrastructure imports is permitted under the automatic route if the trade credit is refinanced before the permissible trade credit period, the authorised dealer verifies import of capital goods via the Bill of Entry, the original trade credit and imports comply with trade credit and DGFT policies, and the proposed ECB complies with all extant ECB guidelines.

External commercial borrowings eligibility expanded, increasing permissible share of export earnings and imposing a per-entity and group cap.
The circular revises ECB eligibility and limits for repayment of rupee loans and fresh rupee capital expenditure by increasing the permissible ECB for an individual company to seventy-five per cent of average foreign exchange earnings over the immediate past three years or fifty per cent of the highest such earnings in any of those years, allows SPVs with at least one year of existence to avail up to fifty per cent of past year export earnings, and imposes a maximum per-company and group cap; other scheme conditions remain unchanged.

Overseas direct investment approvals: Indian parties' investments in Pakistan now subject to regulated approval route under FEMA.
Overseas direct investment by Indian parties in Pakistan will be considered under the approval route of Regulation 9 of the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Any Foreign Security) Regulations, 2004, replacing the prior prohibition in Regulation 6(2); amendments to the Regulations will be issued and Authorised Dealer (Category I) banks are to inform their constituents. The direction is issued under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act and is without prejudice to other legal permissions.

Line of credit conditions require majority India sourcing, set LC/disbursement timelines, and mandate GR/SDF shipment declarations.
A Line of Credit to Mongolia finances eligible machinery, equipment, goods and consultancy services for a joint project, requiring at least 65 percent of goods and non consultancy services to be sourced from India and permitting up to 35 percent procurement from outside India; the agreement sets separate timelines for opening Letters of Credit and disbursement for project exports and supply contracts, mandates GR/SDF shipment declarations, disallows agency commission under the LOC while permitting exporter funded commission remittances subject to realization and prevailing rules, and directs AD Category I banks to notify exporters under FEMA authorities.

Line of credit conditions require majority Indian-sourced supplies, GR/SDF shipment declarations, and bank compliance under FEMA.
A Line of Credit from Exim Bank to the Central African Republic finances eligible Indian goods, services and consultancy for hydro-electric projects, requiring at least 75 percent Indian-supplied value and allowing up to 25 percent foreign procurement (excluding consultancy). The Credit Agreement is effective from August 22, 2012, with LC and disbursement timelines of 48 months from project completion for project exports and 72 months from execution for supply contracts. Shipments must be declared on GR/SDF forms, no agency commission is payable under the LOC, and AD Category-I banks must notify exporters and permit commission remittance only from exporter resources or EEFC balances subject to prevailing rules; directions are issued under FEMA.

Line of Credit conditions govern export eligibility, local content requirements and foreign exchange reporting for project supplies.
The Export-Import Bank of India's Line of Credit finances Indian exports of goods, services, equipment and consultancy for a designated project, requiring a substantial majority of contract value to be sourced from India while permitting limited non-consultancy procurement abroad. The Agreement prescribes deadlines for opening Letters of Credit and disbursements, mandates shipment declaration on GR/SDF forms, disallows agency commission under the LOC (subject to exporters' own remittance options), and directs AD Category I banks to inform exporters; the circular is issued under FEMA authority.

Currency risk hedging by QFIs permitted using forwards, options and swaps to cover rupee investment exposures.
Qualified Foreign Investors may hedge currency risk on permissible rupee denominated equity and debt investments using forwards, foreign currency INR options, and currency INR swaps (for IPO ASBA flows) through their AD Category I bank where the rupee account is maintained; hedge costs must be met from repatriable funds or normal inward remittances, outward remittances are net of taxes, eligibility is based on QFI declaration with quarterly AD bank review backed by QDP certification, forwards once cancelled cannot be rebooked though rollovers before maturity are permitted, and IPO swaps are limited to amounts linked to the proposed investment and to short tenors with no rebooking or rollovers.

Non-resident guarantees allowed for non-fund based rupee facilities between resident entities with mandated reporting requirements.
The Reserve Bank extends general permission for non-resident guarantees to support non-fund based rupee facilities between two residents, noting no foreign exchange event occurs until invocation; discharge and repayment shall follow existing FEMA notification procedures. Authorized Dealer Category I banks must submit consolidated quarterly reports of such guarantees issued and invoked, in the prescribed annex and Excel format, to the RBI ECB Division by the 10th of the following month. The policy is effective from the circular date and subject to future review.