Ramesh ships hand-knotted rugs from Bhadohi to New Jersey. Anita invoices design clients in London. On 1 October 2026, the rules for getting paid from abroad changed for both of them.
RBI has replaced the 2015 export rules with the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026.
They are issued under FEMA (the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999), the law that governs money moving in and out of India. This guide explains the new FEMA rules for exporters in plain language, and what each change means for your business.
RBI has replaced the 2015 export rules with the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026.
They are issued under FEMA (the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999), the law that governs money moving in and out of India. This guide explains the new FEMA rules for exporters in plain language, and what each change means for your business.
TL;DR
- India’s new FEMA export rules took effect on 1 October 2026, replacing the 2015 regulations.
- Export proceeds generally need to reach India within 9 months, or 12 months for exports invoiced or settled in INR.
- Service exporters must file a monthly EDF with their AD bank within 30 days from the end of the invoice month.
- Export records worth up to ₹10 lakh can be closed based on the exporter’s declaration, subject to the AD bank’s approval.
Quick answer: Under the new FEMA rules for exporters, effective 1 October 2026, export payments must reach India within 9 months (12 months if invoiced or settled in rupees). Service exporters file a monthly EDF with their bank. Exports up to ₹10 lakh can be closed on the exporter's own declaration.
What is the export realisation period under the new FEMA rules?
Export realisation means receiving the payment for your export in India. Under the new rules, that has to happen within 9 months. If you invoice or settle the export in Indian rupees, you get 12 months.
| Export type | Realisation window | Clock starts from |
|---|---|---|
| Goods | 9 months | Date of shipment |
| Services | 9 months | Date of invoice |
| Goods sent to an overseas warehouse | 9 months | Date of sale from the warehouse |
| Invoiced or settled in INR | 12 months | Same starting point as above |
The window is an outer limit, not a payment term. If Ramesh agrees 60-day terms with his New Jersey buyer, the buyer still pays in 60 days. The 9 months is simply the latest point by which RBI expects that money to be home.
Why have a window at all? RBI tracks every export until its proceeds arrive, so that foreign exchange earned abroad actually comes back to India. Until the payment lands, the export stays open in RBI's records and your bank will follow up on it.
What if my buyer pays late or pays less?
Speak to your AD bank (Authorised Dealer bank, the bank that handles your foreign exchange) before the 9 months run out. If it is satisfied with your reasons, your bank can extend the realisation period. It can also approve a reduction in the amount, for example when a buyer pays less for goods damaged in transit.
One catch: older articles may still say 15 months. That figure came from the January text of the regulations. A 22 September amendment cut it to 9 months before the rules came into force.
What do service exporters need to file under the new FEMA rules?
Service exporters now file an EDF (Export Declaration Form) with their AD bank. The EDF is due within 30 days from the end of the month in which you raise the invoice, and one EDF can cover all your service exports for that month.
This applies to IT and software companies, SaaS businesses, consultants, agencies and freelancers selling services to clients abroad. Until now, most service exporters did not file a declaration like this. For software exports, the EDF replaces the old SOFTEX form.
Here is how it works for Anita:
- She raises invoices to three London clients in October.
- She files one EDF covering all three invoices with her AD bank by 30 November.
- Each client payment must reach India within 9 months of its invoice date.
The EDF records her service exports for foreign exchange reporting, so her bank can match each incoming payment to an export. Ask your bank how it wants EDFs submitted, since the process and documents can vary from bank to bank.
How does simplified closure work for exports up to ₹10 lakh?
For a shipping bill or invoice worth up to ₹10 lakh (or its equivalence in foreign currency), your AD bank can close the export record based on your own declaration.
That record sits in EDPMS (Export Data Processing and Monitoring System), RBI's system for tracking exports. Every export creates an entry in EDPMS, and the entry stays open until your bank confirms the payment has arrived and closes it. For larger exports, closing an entry means your bank matching documents to the payment.
But for exports up to ₹10 lakh, just your declaration can do that job.
This matters most for e-commerce exporters and small sellers who ship many low-value orders a month. Fewer documents per order means less time chasing paperwork and fewer entries left open. Your AD bank decides which transactions qualify, so confirm the process with them.
Good to know: who regulates exports in India?
Three bodies regulate exports in India. RBI (Reserve Bank of India) governs export payments under FEMA. DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade) sets trade policy and issues the IEC. CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) clears goods at the border. Each one handles a different stage of the same export.
| Body | Part of | Role in an export | What exporters deal with |
|---|---|---|---|
| RBI (Reserve Bank of India) | India's central bank | The money side | Realisation periods, EDF, EDPMS, via your AD bank |
| DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade) | Ministry of Commerce and Industry | The trade side | Foreign Trade Policy, IEC, export schemes |
| CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) | Ministry of Finance | The border side | Shipping bill, customs clearance, GST on exports |
What does RBI do for exporters?
RBI is India's central bank and apex financial regulator. For exporters, it sets the rules for receiving foreign exchange under FEMA: how export payments must arrive, how long you have to realise them and what you must declare.
RBI rarely deals with exporters directly. It works through AD banks, which handle your foreign exchange, collect your EDFs, track your exports in EDPMS and approve extensions. Exporters who repeatedly leave proceeds unrealised can be placed on RBI's caution list, which makes future exports harder to process.
What does DGFT do for exporters?
DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade) is part of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It writes and runs India's Foreign Trade Policy, which decides what can be exported, on what conditions and with which incentives.
For most exporters, the first contact with DGFT is the IEC (Importer Exporter Code), a 10-digit code issued online through the DGFT portal. DGFT also maintains the export policy for each product category and issues authorisations under schemes such as Advance Authorisation and EPCG (Export Promotion Capital Goods).
What does CBIC (Customs) do for exporters?
CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) sits under the Ministry of Finance and runs India's customs and GST systems. For goods exporters, Customs checks and clears every shipment before it leaves the country.
You or your customs broker file a shipping bill on ICEGATE (Indian Customs Electronic Gateway). Customs assesses it, may inspect the goods, then grants a Let Export Order so the cargo can be loaded. CBIC also handles GST on exports, including the LUT (Letter of Undertaking) that lets you export without paying GST upfront.
How do RBI, DGFT and Customs work together on one export?
Each body takes over at a different stage. Here is Ramesh's rug shipment from start to finish:
- DGFT: Ramesh holds an IEC, which lets him export.
- Customs: his shipping bill is filed on ICEGATE, Customs clears the rugs and they ship to New Jersey.
- EDPMS: the shipping bill data flows into RBI's system and opens an export entry.
- RBI, through his AD bank: the buyer's payment reaches India within 9 months, the bank matches it to the shipping bill and closes the entry.
Service exports skip the Customs step, because nothing physical crosses a port. For Anita, the monthly EDF does the job a shipping bill does for goods: it tells RBI what was exported so the payment can be matched to it.
A simple way to remember it: DGFT lets you trade, Customs lets your goods leave, and RBI makes sure the money comes back.
What should exporters do now?
A few checks will keep you on the right side of the new FEMA rules for exporters:
- List every open invoice and mark any that could pass the 9-month mark (12 months for rupee invoices).
- Ask your AD bank how it wants EDFs submitted and what documents it needs.
- Set a monthly reminder to file your EDF within 30 days of each month's end.
- Flag exports up to ₹10 lakh and check whether they qualify for declaration-based closure.
Clean payment records make all of this easier. PayGlocal, an ICICI Bank Group company, is authorised by RBI as a Payment Aggregator - Cross Border - Inward & Outward (PA-CB-I&O). We help Indian exporters collect international payments, settle in INR and receive a FIRA (Foreign Inward Remittance Advice) on settlement, so each payment is easier to match to its export.
