FDI conditions for multi-brand retail require dedicated back-end greenfield investment and company owned front-end stores, and restrict e commerce.
FDI in multi brand retail requires 30% sourcing of manufactured or processed goods from small industries (Plant & Machinery investment cap USD 1 million), applicable only to front end store sales and excluding fresh produce. At least 50% of FDI must be additional greenfield investment in back end infrastructure; acquisitions or equity stakes in existing infrastructure do not count. Front end stores must be company owned and company operated; multi brand retail by e commerce and wholesale/B2B activity by the same entity are not permitted. State laws apply and States may impose additional conditions.

Group company definition expanded to include control over voting rights or board appointments, effective immediately under FDI policy
Definition of group company added to the Consolidated FDI Policy: two or more enterprises are a group where one can, directly or indirectly, exercise a specified threshold of voting rights in another enterprise or appoint a majority of its board members; the amendment takes immediate effect.

Gold import restrictions: consignment limited to exporters; LCs require full cash margin and imports on payment only.
Consignment imports of gold by nominated banks and agencies are allowed only to meet exporters' genuine needs. All Letters of Credit for gold imports must be on 100 per cent cash margin, and all imports must be on Documents against Payment; Documents against Acceptance are not permitted. The instructions are effective immediately and issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Foreign direct investment in multi brand retail permitted under government approval route; Himachal Pradesh added to consenting states list.
Amendment adds Himachal Pradesh to the list of States/Union Territories consenting to implementation of the foreign direct investment policy in multi brand retail trading under Circular 1 of 2013; FDI up to 51% in multi brand retail remains permitted under the government approval route subject to paragraph 6.2.16.5 conditions. The revision to the enumerated list takes immediate effect.

Liberalised Remittance Scheme reporting must be uploaded monthly via ORFS by the fifth following month; hard copies discontinued.
AD Category I banks must submit monthly Liberalised Remittance Scheme data exclusively via the Reserve Bank's Online Returns Filing System, uploading each month's data by the fifth day of the following month; where no transactions occur, banks must upload nil figures. Hard copy monthly statements are no longer required. Banks should access ORFS via the prescribed secure URL and may direct procedural queries to the provided contact channels. These directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act and are without prejudice to other statutory permissions.

Export proceeds repatriation timeframe shortened under foreign exchange regulations; exporters must repatriate authorised foreign exchange within the revised regulatory period.
The circular reduces the period for realisation and repatriation of the full export value of goods and software from the previously extended term to a shorter, specified term from the date of export, effective immediately for a limited period; timelines for SEZ exports and exports to overseas warehouses remain unchanged, Authorised Dealer Category I banks must inform constituents, and the directions are issued under the foreign exchange regulatory framework without prejudice to other legal permissions.

FDI payment via investor bank account allowed, enabling equity issuance under government route against pre operational expenses.
FDI under the Government route may fund equity or preference shares against pre operative/pre incorporation expenses. Condition (c) is amended to allow payments by the foreign investor either directly to the company or through a bank account opened by the foreign investor as provided under FEMA Regulations; other conditions remain unchanged.

Restriction on consignment import of gold limited to genuine needs of jewellery exporters under FEMA; immediate compliance required.
Nominated banks and authorised dealers must restrict import of gold on consignment basis to meeting the genuine needs of exporters of gold jewellery; this alignment with other import regulations follows the Working Group on Gold's recommendations, takes effect immediately, and leaves all other gold import instructions unchanged under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

FDI clarification format required; requests lacking complete annexed particulars for proposed investments will not be processed.
Departmental direction that only clarification requests on FDI policy submitted with complete particulars in the annexed format will be processed. The annex requires investor and investee identities and contacts, incorporation and business details, copy of MoA, proposed investment amount and foreign shareholding (pre/post), sector and NIC code, a concise gist of proposed activity, the policy paragraph for clarification, a brief issue statement, prior approval details with copies, and any other relevant information, signed by an authorised signatory.

Anti money laundering standards require Indian Agents to apply FATF guidance to cross border remittances and ensure sub agent compliance.
Anti money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism standards apply to cross border inward remittances under the Money Transfer Service Scheme; Authorised Persons (Indian Agents) must consider FATF guidance on jurisdictions with AML/CFT deficiencies. The directive does not bar legitimate transactions but imposes responsibility on Indian Agents to ensure Sub Agent compliance, notify constituents, obtain Principal Officer acknowledgement, and observe statutory due diligence, verification and record keeping obligations.

Anti-Money Laundering standards require authorised persons and agents to apply enhanced due diligence for high-risk jurisdictions.
Authorised Persons in money changing activities must consider the FATF statement on jurisdictions with AML/CFT deficiencies and apply appropriate vigilance while not barring legitimate transactions. The circular places responsibility on franchisers to ensure agents and franchisees comply, requires Authorised Persons to inform constituents and obtain Principal Officer acknowledgement, and issues directions under FEMA and PMLA and related rules without prejudice to other statutory permissions.

Restrictions on rupee linked financial products: overseas entities with Indian equity participation require prior RBI approval to offer them.
Overseas entities having direct or indirect equity participation by Indian parties shall not offer rupee linked financial products (including non deliverable trades tied to rupee exchange rates or Indian market indices) without specific prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India; any such activity under the overseas direct investment automatic route will be treated as a contravention of FEMA regulations and attract action under FEMA, 1999. Category I Authorised Dealer banks must notify their constituents.

Automatic route for overseas oil sector investment extended to Navratna PSUs, OVL and OIL for incorporated ventures.
Navratna PSUs, ONGC Videsh Ltd and Oil India Ltd may invest in incorporated overseas joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries in the oil sector (e.g., exploration and drilling) if investments are duly approved by the Government of India; such investments are permitted without any limits under the automatic route, extending the prior facility for unincorporated entities, with other terms and conditions remaining unchanged.

FDI policy correction: an internal paragraph reference is amended to ensure accurate regulatory cross referencing and guidance.
Corrigendum to the Consolidated FDI Policy (Circular I of 2013) corrects an internal cross reference: the phrase 'paragraph 6.2.24' in paragraph 3.10.3.1 is to be read as 'paragraph 6.2.17.8'. The correction is issued by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion and instructs publicity, website upload, transmission to the Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank of India, and Hindi translation.

All-in-cost ceiling for trade credits remains in place and is continued subject to review; trade credit policy unchanged.
The circular continues the all-in-cost ceiling for trade credits for imports into India, keeping the previously prescribed ceiling in effect until June 30, 2013 and subject to review, while stating that all other aspects of the trade credit policy remain unchanged and directing Authorized Dealer Category I banks to inform their constituents; the directions are issued as statutory instructions under the foreign exchange law and without prejudice to other permissions or approvals.

Line of Credit requiring majority Indian sourcing for financed contracts, compliance with RBI shipment declarations and FEMA directions.
A Line of Credit of USD 76.50 million to Malawi finances eligible goods, services, machinery, equipment and consultancy for specified projects, requiring at least 75 per cent of contract value to be supplied from India and permitting up to 25 per cent procurement abroad. The Credit Agreement is effective March 13, 2013; LC and disbursement timelines are 48 months for project exports and 72 months for supply contracts. Shipments must be declared on GR/SDF forms. No agency commission is payable under the LOC, though exporters may remit commission from their own funds or EEFC balances subject to AD Category-I bank compliance. Directions issued under FEMA.

Sale of Indian rupees against international cards allowed for authorised money changers, reimbursement via banking channels required.
Authorised Money Changers may sell Indian rupees to foreign tourists and visitors against International Credit Cards and International Debit Cards, provided they take prompt steps to obtain reimbursement through normal banking channels; all other instructions of the earlier related circular remain unchanged and the directions are issued under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Foreign Direct Investment rules define permitted sectors, entry routes and compliance obligations for foreign investors in India.
The Consolidated FDI Policy establishes a unified framework governing who may invest in India, permissible instruments and the methodology for counting direct and indirect foreign investments. It distinguishes the Automatic Route (no prior government approval) from the Government Route (prior approval required) and sets sectoral entry conditions, caps, minimum capitalisation/lock in requirements and national security safeguards for sensitive sectors. The Circular prescribes pricing/valuation rules, timelines for issuance after inward remittance, mandatory reporting (Forms FC GPR, FC TRS, annual returns), repatriation norms and enforcement measures under FEMA for violations.

Special Currency Basket valuation revised under FEMA; authorised dealer banks must apply and notify constituents accordingly.
AD Category I banks are notified that the Rupee value of the Special Currency Basket has been revised and that this revised valuation is effective from the stated effectivity date; banks are instructed to inform their constituents and the directions are issued under FEMA sections 10(4) and 11(1), without prejudice to other legal permissions or approvals.

Foreign investment limits in government and corporate debt simplified, merging sub-limits and clarifying eligible investor categories and instrument caps.
The circular merges existing sub-limits into two unified ceilings: a Government Debt limit of USD 25 billion for SEBI-registered FIIs, QFIs and long-term investors (with a USD 5.5 billion cap on treasury bills), and a Corporate Debt Limit of USD 51 billion for the same investor classes (with a USD 3.5 billion cap on commercial paper). Non-Resident Indians remain regulated under existing guidelines. These measures take effect from April 1, 2013, with SEBI to issue operational guidelines and RBI amending FEMA regulations accordingly.