External Commercial Borrowings: revised Form-83 for Loan Registration Number streamlines LRN reporting while retaining existing ECB conditions.
Borrowers seeking a Loan Registration Number (LRN) for External Commercial Borrowings must submit the revised Form-83 format effective July 1, 2012, with an annex illustrating calculation of average maturity. This change rationalises information required for LRNs while all other ECB conditions-eligible borrowers, recognized lenders, end use restrictions, all-in-cost, average maturity, prepayment, refinancing and reporting-remain unchanged and must be complied with. Category-I Authorised Dealer banks must notify constituents; directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act without prejudice to other required permissions.

Foreign investment limits in government securities and infrastructure debt revised, relaxing maturity and lock in requirements for eligible foreign investors.
The circular increases the limit for FII investment in Government securities and reallocates sub-limits, including a sub-limit requiring a residual maturity of at least three years at first purchase, and permits certain long-term institutional investors to register with SEBI to invest. For infrastructure debt, the lock-in period is uniformly reduced to one year and the residual maturity at first purchase is set at fifteen months; QFIs may invest in mutual fund schemes with at least 25% infrastructure assets under the existing mutual fund sub-limit. Amendments to FEMA regulations will follow.

External Commercial Borrowings for rupee loan repayment allowed under approval route with eligibility and end use safeguards.
External Commercial Borrowings may be used, via the approval route, for repayment of outstanding Rupee loans used for capital expenditure and for fresh Rupee capital expenditure by eligible manufacturing and infrastructure companies that are consistent foreign exchange earners and not on the RBI default/caution lists. The overall facility and per company limits are tied to export earnings; drawdown must occur promptly after obtaining the Loan Registration Number. Applications in Form ECB require statutory auditor certification and lender/AD certification of outstanding Rupee loans. Designated AD Category I banks shall monitor end use, prevent sourcing of foreign exchange for repayment from Indian markets, and note that Indian banks cannot provide guarantees; all ECB conditions remain applicable.

Annual return on Foreign Liabilities and Assets reporting: electronic submission required annually; AD banks must notify constituents.
The circular requires Indian companies with inbound or outbound foreign investment to submit an annual return on Foreign Liabilities and Assets using a revised electronic form with guidance and validations available on the central bank website; the form must be filled, validated and e-mailed by the prescribed annual deadline. Authorised Dealer Category I banks must notify constituents; amendments to applicable foreign exchange regulations will follow. Directions are issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act and are without prejudice to other legal approvals.

Money Transfer Service Scheme remittance cap raised; increases permitted inbound transfers per beneficiary while APs remain responsible for compliance.
The Reserve Bank amended the Money Transfer Service Scheme to raise the permitted number of inward cross border remittances a single individual beneficiary may receive in a calendar year; all other Notification conditions remain unchanged. The change applies mutatis mutandis to Sub Agents, and Indian Authorised Persons bear sole responsibility to ensure Sub Agent compliance and to inform their constituents. The directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act and are without prejudice to other statutory permissions.

UIN communication by auto email confirms allotment and enables online reporting of overseas direct investment remittances.
AD Category I banks may generate the Unique Identification Number (UIN) online for the automatic route; the UIN will be communicated by an auto generated e mail, which shall constitute confirmation of allotment, and subsequent remittances under the automatic and approval routes must be reported online in Part II of Form ODI only after receipt of that electronic confirmation. Physical submission of Form ODI for approval route applications remains required alongside online Part I reporting.

Special Currency Basket valuation revised; authorised dealer banks instructed to apply updated rupee conversion and notify constituents.
Revision of the Special Currency Basket rupee valuation is communicated to Authorised Dealer Category I banks, with the circular notifying a further revision effective from May 9, 2012. AD Category I banks are directed to apply the updated rupee valuation in relevant transactions and to bring the circular's contents to the notice of their constituents. The directions are issued under the statutory powers in the foreign exchange legislation and are without prejudice to permissions or approvals required under other laws.

Net Overnight Open Position Limit excludes exchange currency derivatives and bans netting with OTC, requiring exchange-only close-outs.
Positions in exchange-traded currency futures and options are excluded from banks' Net Overnight Open Position Limit; exchange positions cannot be netted with OTC positions and must be closed on the exchange. Trading member banks face a prescribed exchange position cap, and AD Category I banks must reduce positions to the specified limits by the compliance deadline, pursuant to directions issued under statutory foreign exchange powers.

Exchange earner foreign currency conversion required for available EEFC balances, excluding amounts earmarked for outstanding hedges.
The Reserve Bank directed conversion of a portion of EEFC account balances into rupee balances to be credited to rupee accounts per account holder directions; the conversion applies only to the available EEFC balance after netting off amounts earmarked for outstanding forward and option contracts booked before the earlier notification. Authorised Dealer Category I banks must implement the conversion, notify their constituents, and note that the directions are issued under FEMA and do not affect other statutory permissions.

Foreign investment in NBFC leasing: only financial leases permitted under automatic route; operating leases excluded.
FDI up to 100% in NBFC "leasing and finance" under the automatic route, subject to minimum capitalisation norms, applies only to financial leases; operating leases are excluded. AD Category I banks should notify their customers; amendments to FEMA 2000 will be separately notified and the directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act without prejudice to other statutory permissions.

Special Currency Basket revision requires banks to apply the updated rupee value and notify affected constituents promptly.
The Reserve Bank of India revised and fixed the rupee value of the Special Currency Basket used under the Deferred Payment Protocols; Authorised Dealer Category I banks must adopt the revised rupee value for transactions and notify their affected constituents. The directions are issued under FEMA and are without prejudice to other statutory permissions or approvals.

Line of Credit for export financing mandates majority Indian content, fixed disbursement windows and FEMA compliance.
Exim Bank's Line of Credit to Mozambique finances a solar module manufacturing plant where at least 75 per cent of contract value must be supplied from India and up to 25 per cent of non-consultancy goods and services may be procured abroad. The Credit Agreement, effective April 23, 2012, prescribes 48-month disbursement limits from project completion for project exports and a 72-month disbursement window from execution for supply contracts.

EEFC retention limit reduced; existing balances partly converted and future forex access conditioned on exhausting EEFC funds.
Circular requires conversion of half of existing EEFC balances into rupee accounts within a short timeframe with compliance reporting; limits future retention in non interest EEFC accounts to half of forex receipts while the remainder must be surrendered for conversion; obliges utilisation of EEFC balances before purchasing additional foreign exchange and extends these rules to Resident Foreign Currency and Diamond Dollar accounts.

Intraday open position limits: authorised dealers permitted expanded daylight limits for rupee-involving positions under FEMA guidance.
The Reserve Bank prescribes that the intra-day open position / daylight limit of Authorised Dealer Category I banks for positions involving the Rupee shall be the greater of five times the Net Overnight Open Position Limit available to them, or the existing intra-day limit approved by the Reserve Bank; the direction replaces the earlier cap tied to the erstwhile Net Overnight Open Position Limit and is issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, without prejudice to other statutory permissions.

Use of FCNR(B) funds permitted for resident loans for foreign exchange needs or hedged rupee working capital.
FCNR(B) deposit liabilities may be used by Authorised Dealer Category I banks to make loans to resident constituents for foreign exchange requirements or for rupee working capital/capital expenditure of exporters or corporates that have a natural hedge or a risk management policy, subject to prevailing prudential and interest rate norms, credit discipline and credit monitoring guidelines.

Foreign investment in commodity exchanges: government approval required only for FDI component; registered FIIs exempt.
Government prior approval is required only for the FDI component in commodity exchanges; registered FIIs may invest in commodity exchanges without Government approval, with other existing composite ceiling conditions remaining unchanged. For NBFC leasing and finance activity, FDI up to 100 per cent under the automatic route remains subject to minimum capitalisation, and FDI is permitted only for financial leasing, not operating leasing.

Conversion of imported second-hand machinery excluded from government route FDI equity issuance, other conditions remain in force.
Conversion of imported second-hand machinery is excluded from eligibility for issuance of equity or preference shares under the Government route for FDI, while all other terms of the earlier A.P. (DIR Series) Circulars remain unchanged. Authorised Dealer Category I banks must notify customers; amendments to the FEMA (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident Outside India) Regulations, 2000 will follow. Directions are issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and are without prejudice to other statutory permissions.

ECB proceeds repatriation required: borrowers and authorised dealers must repatriate rupee use ECB funds to India or face FEMA penalties.
Borrowers must provide a bifurcation of ECB proceeds between foreign currency and Rupee expenditure in Form 83 at the time of obtaining a Loan Registration Number, and must repatriate ECB proceeds intended for Rupee expenditure to India for credit to their Rupee accounts with Authorised Dealer Category I banks; designated AD banks must ensure immediate repatriation after drawdown, and contraventions will attract penal action under the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

Release of foreign exchange: simplified documentation for current account remittances permitted up to a raised threshold.
Authorised Dealers may release foreign exchange for permissible current account remittances on the basis of a simple letter stating applicant and beneficiary details, amount and purpose, without obtaining supporting documents including Form A-2, where payment is by cheque or demand draft and the remittance falls within the revised documentation-free threshold; AD banks must prepare dummy A-2 records for Balance of Payments reporting, and the directions are issued under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of FEMA, 1999.

Repatriation of NRO funds permitted: transfers to NRE accounts allowed within annual ceiling, subject to applicable tax.
NRIs, as defined in the Deposit Regulations, may transfer repatriable funds from NRO to NRE accounts within the overall annual ceiling, subject to payment of applicable taxes; such credits shall be treated as eligible credits under the Schedule provisions of the Deposit Regulations.