TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
Master Direction - Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS)(Updated as on September 06, 2024)
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....orised Persons under Section 11 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999. These directions lay down the modalities as to how the foreign exchange business has to be conducted by the Authorised Persons with their customers/constituents with a view to implementing the regulations framed. 3. This Master Direction consolidates the existing instructions on the "Liberalised Remittance Scheme" at one place. Reporting instructions can be found in Master Direction on Reporting (Master Direction No. 18 dated January 1, 2016) 4. It may be noted that, whenever necessary, Reserve Bank shall issue directions to Authorised Persons through A.P. (DIR Series) Circulars in regard to any change in the Regulations or the manner in which relative transactions are to be conducted by the Authorised Persons with their customers/ constituents. The Master Direction issued herewith shall be amended suitably simultaneously. Yours faithfully, (N. Senthil Kumar) General Manager * Since this Master Direction has been significantly amended, it has been replaced rather than showing the changes in track mode for reader convenience. The changes are listed at the end of Master Direction in a....
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....he provisions contained in Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Rules, 2022, Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Regulations, 2022 and Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Directions, 2022; * extending loans including loans in Indian Rupees to Non-resident Indians (NRIs) who are relatives as defined in Companies Act, 20139. 7. The limit of USD 2,50,000 per Financial Year (FY) under the Scheme also includes/subsumes remittances for current account transactions (viz. private visit; gift/donation; going abroad on employment; emigration; maintenance of relatives abroad; business trip; medical treatment abroad; studies abroad) available to resident individuals under Para 1 of Schedule III to Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transactions) Amendment Rules, 2015 dated May 26, 2015. Release of foreign exchange exceeding USD 2,50,000, requires prior permission from the Reserve Bank of India. a. Private visits For private visits abroad, other than to Nepal and Bhutan, any resident individual can obtain foreign exchange up to an aggregate amount of USD 2,50,000 from an Authorised Dealer or FFMC, in any one financial year, irrespective....
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....oreign exchange under general permission based on the estimate from the doctor in India or hospital/ doctor abroad. A person who has fallen sick after proceeding abroad may also be released foreign exchange by an Authorised Dealer (without seeking prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India) for medical treatment outside India. In addition to the above, an amount up to USD 250,000 per financial year is allowed to a person for accompanying as attendant to a patient going abroad for medical treatment/check-up. h. Facilities available to students for pursuing their studies abroad. AD Category I banks and AD Category II may release foreign exchange up to USD 2,50,000 or its equivalent to resident individuals for studies abroad without insisting on any estimate from the foreign University. However, AD Category I bank and AD Category II may allow remittances (without seeking prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India) exceeding USD 2,50,000 based on the estimate received from the institution abroad. 8. Remittances under the Scheme can be used for purchasing objects of art subject to the provisions of other applicable laws such as the extant Foreign Trade Policy of the Government....
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....ent individual seeking to make the remittance should furnish 14Form A2 as at Annex for purchase of foreign exchange under LRS. 16. It is mandatory for the resident individual to provide his/her Permanent Account Number (PAN) to make remittance under the Scheme.15 17. Investor, who has remitted funds under LRS can retain, reinvest the income earned on the investments. The received/realised/unspent/unused foreign exchange, unless reinvested, shall be repatriated and surrendered to an authorised person within a period of 180 days from the date of such receipt/ realisation/ purchase/ acquisition or date of return to India, as the case may be, in accordance with Regulation 7 of Foreign Exchange Management (Realisation, repatriation and surrender of foreign exchange) Regulations, 2015 [Notification No. FEMA 9(R)/2015-RB]16. However, a resident individual who has made overseas direct investment in 17accordance with FEMA provisions, shall have to comply with the provisions contained in Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Rules, 2022, Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Regulations, 2022 and Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Directions, 2022. ....
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....nsfer. The amount should be credited to the Non-Resident (Ordinary) Rupee Account (NRO) a/c of the NRI / PIO and credit of such gift amount may be treated as an eligible credit to NRO a/c. The gift amount would be within the overall limit of USD 250,000 per FY as permitted under the LRS for a resident individual. It would be the responsibility of the resident donor to ensure that the gift amount is within the LRS limit and all the remittances made by the donor during the financial year including the gift amount have not exceeded the limit prescribed under the LRS. B. Operational instructions to Authorised Persons 1. Authorized Persons may carefully study the provisions of the Act / Regulations / Notifications issued under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. 2. The Reserve Bank will not, generally, prescribe the documents which should be verified by the Authorised Persons while releasing foreign exchange for current account transactions. In this connection, attention of authorized persons is drawn to sub-section (5) of Section 10 of the FEMA, 1999 which provides that an authorised person shall require any person desiring to transact in foreign exchange to make such a declar....
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....ake the remittances, by a cheque drawn on the applicant's bank account or by debit to his account or by Demand Draft / Pay Order. Authorised Dealer may also accept the payment through credit /debit/prepaid card of the card holder. 9. The Authorised Dealer should certify that the remittance is not being made directly or indirectly by /or to ineligible entities and that the remittances are made in accordance with the instructions contained herein. 10. AD bank should not extend any kind of credit facilities to resident individuals to facilitate remittances for capital account transactions under the Scheme. 11. Authorised Dealer may keep a record of the countries identified by FATF as non-co-operative countries and territories and accordingly update the list from time to time for necessary action by their branches handling the transactions under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme. For this purpose, they may access the website www.fatf-gafi.org to obtain the latest list of non-co-operative countries notified by FATF. 12. The remittances made under this Scheme will be reported in FETERS20 in the normal course.21 In addition, AD banks shall be guided by FED Master Direction No. 18/....
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....ign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Regulations, 2022 and Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Directions, 2022. Prior to deletion it read as "property". 7 Inserted with effect from August 22, 2022 to align the directions with the provisions contained in Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Rules, 2022, Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Regulations, 2022 and Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Directions, 2022. 8 Modified with effect from August 22, 2022 to align the directions with the provisions contained in Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Rules, 2022, Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Regulations, 2022 and Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Directions, 2022. Prior to modification it read as "(ii) purchase of property abroad; (iii) making investments abroad- acquisition and holding shares of both listed and unlisted overseas company or debt instruments; 5acquisition of qualification shares of an overseas company for holding the post of Director; acquisition of shares of a foreign company towards professional services rendered or in lieu of Director's remuneration....