RBI Amends FEMA Regulations: Exporters Can Hold Foreign Currency Accounts in IFSCs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under Foreign exchange Department issued a notification dated October 6, 2025. In powers given by Section 9 and clause (e) of sub-section (2) of section 47 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42), the Reserve Bank of India makes the following changes to the Foreign Exchange Management (Foreign Currency Accounts by a person resident in India) Regulations, 2015:

1. Short Title and Commencement:

(i) These regulations will be known as the Foreign Exchange Management (Foreign Currency Accounts by a person resident in India) (Seventh Amendment) Regulations, 2025.

(ii) They will be effective from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

2. In the principal regulations, in regulation 2, after clause (iii), the following will be placed:

“(iii-a) ‘International Financial Services Centre’ or ‘IFSC’ shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (g) of section 3 of the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019 (50 of 2019).”

3. In the principal regulations, in regulation 5, the sub-regulation (CA) will be replaced:

“(CA). A person resident in India, being an exporter, may open, hold and maintain a Foreign Currency Account with a bank outside India for realisation of full export value and advance remittance received by the exporter towards export of goods or services. Funds in this account may be utilised by the exporter for paying for its imports into India or repatriated into India within a period not exceeding the end of

(a) three months in the case of accounts maintained with banks in an International Financial Services Centre; or

(b) next month for all other jurisdictions; from the date of receipt of the funds after adjusting for forward commitments, provided that the realisation and repatriation requirements as specified in the Foreign Exchange Management (Export of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2015, as amended from time to time, are also met.”

4. In the principal regulations, at the end of regulation 5, the following will be placed:

“Explanation: For the purpose of regulation 5, the foreign currency accounts permitted to be opened ‘outside India/ abroad’ can also be opened in the International Financial Services Centre.”