RBI notifies amendments to FEMA Regulations

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reviewed the existing regulations under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA, 1999) in consultation with the Central Government to promote cross border transactions in Indian Rupees and local / national currencies. In this regard, the RBI has notified amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management (Deposit) Regulations, 2016, the Foreign Exchange Management (Foreign Currency Accounts by a Person Resident in India) Regulations, 2015 and the Foreign Exchange Management (Mode of Payment and Reporting of Non-Debt Instruments) Regulations, 2019.

 

Broadly speaking, the following changes have been made to the aforesaid regulations under FEMA, 1999:

 

1. Overseas branches of Authorized Dealer banks will be able to open INR accounts for a person resident outside India for settlement of all permissible current account and capital account transactions with a person resident in India.

 

2. Persons resident outside India will be able to settle bona fide transactions with other persons resident outside India using the balances in their repatriable INR accounts such as Special Non-resident Rupee account (SNRR) and Special Rupee Vostro Account (SRVA).

 

3. Persons resident outside India will be able to use their balances held in repatriable INR accounts for foreign investment, including Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), in non-debt instruments.

 

4. Indian exporters will be able to open accounts in any foreign currency overseas for settlement of trade transactions, including receiving export proceeds and using these proceeds to pay for imports.

 

For more details, kindly refer to the FEMA Regulations and the Press Release issued by RBI, available by clicking on these links: (i) link (Foreign Exchange Management (Deposit) (Fifth Amendment) Regulations, 2025); (ii) link (Foreign Exchange Management (Foreign Currency Accounts by a person resident in India) (Fifth Amendment) Regulations, 2025); (iii) link (Foreign Exchange Management (Mode of Payment and Reporting of Non- Debt Instruments) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2025); and (iv) link (RBI Press Release).