Foreign contribution compounding framework revised with updated offences, authorised officers, and prescribed compounding amounts.
Amends the compounding framework under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act by substituting the table of offences and authorised officers in the earlier notification. The revised entries cover excess administrative expenditure, speculative investment, use of foreign contribution for other purposes, and contraventions relating to acceptance or utilisation without registration or for an unregistered purpose or State or Union territory. The amendment also prescribes the compounding amount and continues the role of the Director or Deputy Secretary as the authorised compounding authority.

Key functionaries and scope-based registration reshape foreign contribution compliance under the amended rules.
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2026 revise the registration and compliance framework by replacing repeated references to office bearers and governing body members with the broader concept of key functionaries, inserting a definition of that expression, and requiring applications and certificates to specify the purposes and States or Union territories covered. The amendments also link instalment release to seventy-five per cent utilisation of the previous instalment, introduce a deemed standard of reasonable activity for cancellation and renewal, and add detailed reporting, disclosure, and form requirements, including a mechanism for changing the scope of registration. A new Schedule expands the permissible purposes for registration across religious, cultural, economic, educational, and social domains.

Special Non-Resident Rupee Accounts framework expanded to cover IFSC banking, permitted transfers, and authorised dealer instructions.
The amendment revises the Foreign Exchange Management (Deposit) Regulations by updating the definition of International Financial Services Centre, expanding the framework for Special Non-Resident Rupee Accounts, and aligning permitted transfers with remittance limits under the Remittance of Assets Regulations. It permits SNRR accounts to be maintained with authorised dealers in India or their branches outside India, including in an IFSC, for permissible current and capital account transactions and bona fide transactions with persons outside India.

Foreign exchange payment and reporting rules for non-debt instruments are updated for NRI, OCI, and international exchange equity investments.
Amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management (Mode of Payment and Reporting of Non-Debt Instruments) Regulations, 2019 revise the permitted mode of payment and remittance of sale proceeds for specified non-debt instrument investments. The amended Schedule XI updates the payment framework for purchase or subscription of equity shares of Indian companies listed on international exchanges by permissible holders. The reporting provision under Regulation 4 is also substituted to require designated Authorised Dealer Category I banks to report in Form LEC (IFI) the purchase or transfer of equity instruments by individual persons resident outside India, including NRIs and OCIs, on stock exchanges in India.

Investment and transfer rules for individual persons resident outside India are broadened, with updated approval and holding-limit conditions.
The amendment rules broaden the non-debt instruments framework by replacing references to NRI or OCI with the wider category of an individual person resident outside India and revising the related investment and transfer provisions. They permit repatriation-based purchase, sale, and transfer of equity instruments and units subject to schedule-based conditions, prior Government approval in sensitive ownership or control cases involving land-border countries, and updated definitions of ownership and beneficial owner. The rules also restate foreign portfolio investor holding limits, breach consequences, divestment requirements, and reclassification of excess holdings as foreign direct investment.

Export realisation period shortened as the regulation reduces the time limit for goods, software and services to nine months.
The amendment shortens the export realisation period under the principal regulations by substituting nine months for fifteen months in regulation 9, including sub-regulation (1) and sub-regulation (2)(a). It applies to the realisation of export value of goods, software and services and takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette.

Cross-border merger regulations updated to replace NCLT with Competent Authority and expand the approval definition.
The amendment revises the definition framework in regulation 2 by omitting clause (vii) and inserting a definition of Competent Authority as any authority empowered under the Companies Act, 2013 or subordinate legislation to approve a scheme of merger or amalgamation. It also substitutes the expression "Competent Authority" for "NCLT" in regulations 4, 5, 7 and 9, updating the merger approval references used in the principal regulations.

Foreign investment in insurance sector now allows full equity under automatic route with regulatory and governance conditions
Foreign investment policy for the insurance sector is revised by substituting the Schedule I entry for insurance under the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019. The amended framework permits 100% foreign investment in Indian insurance companies on the automatic route, subject to approval and verification by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, compliance with the Insurance Act, 1938, and prescribed licensing, governance and pricing conditions. The 100% foreign equity cap is also extended to insurance intermediaries, and foreign investment in LIC is made subject to the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 and applicable insurance law provisions.

Foreign investment restrictions tighten for land-border and Pakistan-linked ownership, with reporting and approval rules clarified
The amendment revises the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 to regulate equity investment in Indian companies, especially where the investor, beneficial owner, or ownership chain involves a country sharing land border with India or Pakistan. It requires Government route investment and prior Government approval in specified restricted cases, applies Reserve Bank reporting where approval is not otherwise required, excludes certain multilateral banks or funds from country attribution, and treats issue or transfer of participating interest or right in oil fields to a person resident outside India as foreign investment subject to Schedule I.

Foreign exchange authorisation framework sets eligibility, turnover, fit and proper standards, permitted activities, and appeal requirements for authorised persons.
The regulations create the framework for authorisation, renewal, permitted activities, continuing obligations, appeal and supervision of authorised persons under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. They require Reserve Bank authorisation for acting as an authorised person, prescribe eligibility criteria, including corporate form, minimum net worth, turnover and fit and proper standards, and classify authorised persons as AD Category-I, AD Category-II, AD Category-III and FFMC. The regulations also set out category-wise permitted activities, conditions of authorisation, grounds for rejection or revocation, an appeal mechanism, and a Forex Correspondent Scheme for agent-based money changing operations.

Currency declaration thresholds require use of a CDF for foreign exchange above specified thresholds and production at conversion.
The amendment inserts a Currency Declaration Form Annex requiring passengers with foreign exchange above specified thresholds to declare aggregate foreign exchange on arrival. Passengers must produce the CDF to an authorised bank or money changer when converting or reconverting currency and retain it if not all declared foreign exchange is encashed for presentation to Customs on departure. The form requires passenger identification and Customs certification; travellers' cheque details need not be furnished and foreign tourists need not provide an address.

Restriction on end-use of borrowed funds bars specified sectors and tightens ECB reporting, security and maturity requirements.
Amendments substitute definitions, add a prohibition on specific end uses of borrowed funds (including chit funds, nidhi companies, specified real estate and certain agricultural and plantation activities, trading in transferable development rights, most securities transactions and repayment of restricted domestic INR loans), revise individual INR borrowing from non residents to require inward remittance and non repatriation, and replace Schedule I with a comprehensive ECB framework covering eligible borrowers and lenders, currency and form of borrowing, limits, minimum average maturity periods, cost and security rules, refinancing, conversion to non debt instruments, drawdown via Loan Registration Number, and detailed reporting obligations through the designated AD Category I bank.

Export and import of goods and services: declarations, timelines, authorised dealer oversight, and mandatory reporting requirements.
These Regulations require exporters to submit an Export Declaration Form (EDF)