Bench composition under FEMA: Division Benches hear cases above a penalty threshold while others go to Single Member Benches.
Constitutes Single Member Benches (one with the Chairperson and others with a Member) and Division Benches (Chairperson with a Member or any two Members) for the Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange, and prescribes that cases with penalties above a specified threshold are to be heard by a Division Bench while other cases are to be heard by Single Member Benches, with the Chairperson responsible for distribution of work.

Exchange traded currency options: residents may trade standardized USD INR options under eligibility, prudential limits and RBI authorisation.
Exchange traded currency options on USD INR or RBI approved pairs are permitted on recognised stock exchanges, cash settled in Rupees using the Reserve Bank reference rate, and available only to persons resident in India; participation, membership and clearing are subject to SEBI registration, RBI authorisation and specified prudential requirements for AD Category I banks, while position limits, margining and surveillance follow SEBI guidance and the Reserve Bank may vary eligibility, limits and margins to protect financial stability.

Currency derivatives access expanded: residents may use currency futures and options on recognised exchanges under regulatory directions.
A person resident in India may enter into currency futures or currency options on a stock exchange recognised under the Securities Contract (Regulation) Act, 1956, to hedge an exposure to risk or otherwise, subject to such terms and conditions as may be set forth in directions issued by the Reserve Bank of India.

Corporate guarantee permission for operating lease financing allowed, subject to RBI directions and Foreign Trade Policy compliance.
An authorized dealer bank may, subject to directions issued by the Reserve Bank, permit a person resident in India to issue a corporate guarantee in favour of an overseas lessor for financing import through operating lease effected in conformity with the Foreign Trade Policy and under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transactions) Rules.

Liberalisation of royalty and technology payments permits automatic approval for royalties, technology transfer fees and trademark use payments.
The amendment omits Item 8 of Schedule II to the Current Account Transactions Rules, thereby permitting payments for royalty, lump-sum technology transfer fees and payments for use of trademark/brand name on the automatic route; the rule is deemed effective retrospectively from 16 December 2009 to give immediate effect to the liberalisation.

Pricing norms for issue or transfer of shares to persons resident outside India require specified valuation standards and minimum price safeguards.
The amendment requires that rights offers to persons resident outside India be priced: for listed company shares, at a price determined by the company; for unlisted company shares, at no less than the price offered to resident shareholders. Schedule I now mandates minimum issue prices for non-residents: (a) per applicable SEBI guidelines for listed shares; (b) fair valuation by a SEBI-registered Category I Merchant Banker or a Chartered Accountant using the discounted free cash flow method for unlisted shares; and (c) pricing for preferential allotment as per Reserve Bank guidelines for resident-to-non-resident transfers.

Foreign currency accounts for resident project offices allowed subject to RBI directions, permitting non interest and multiple accounts.
Authorized dealers, subject to Reserve Bank directions, may allow Project Offices set up in India by foreign companies to open, hold and maintain non-interest bearing foreign currency accounts in India for projects to be executed in India; this provision is deemed effective from May 17, 2005. The phrase "one or more foreign currency accounts" replaces "foreign currency account," permitting multiple accounts, deemed effective from July 31, 2008.