Introduction of FEMA Act,1999

Foreign exchange regulation enables supervised cross border payments and investments under Reserve Bank oversight and civil enforcement mechanisms.

The statute establishes a regulatory framework treating most foreign exchange transactions as permissible unless prohibited, vests supervisory authority in the Reserve Bank of India with Central Government rule making, and aims to facilitate external trade, orderly foreign exchange markets, and preservation of reserves while distinguishing current account freedoms from controlled capital account transactions. It also creates an authorised person regime, Directorate of Enforcement investigative functions, civil adjudication and compounding mechanisms, export realisation and repatriation requirements, and appeal routes, with most contraventions treated as civil except in exceptional cases.