case file · consultation anatomy
Regulations + Directions on Export and Import of Goods and Services (unified EDF for goods/services/software; SOFTEX folded in)
RBI replaced the 2015 Regulations, two master directions and 167 circulars with one principle-based rule for everything crossing the border — goods, services, software. Unusually consultative by this desk's standards: two draft rounds, and a published summary of who asked for what. This case file reads the ledger of asks — who got their timing concessions, and who lost the substantive ask.
What changed on the ground, from 1 October 2026: one Export Declaration Form for goods, services and software (SOFTEX folded in); service exporters file one consolidated EDF a month, due within 30 days of month-end, no minimum invoice value; banks credit only after the EDPMS match; proceeds due within nine months (12 if invoiced in rupees); non-filing is a FEMA contravention under s.13 (penalty up to 3× the sum involved).
The consultation timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 02 Jul 2024 | Draft Regulations and Draft Directions published; comments invited by email until 2024-09-01. |
| 04 Apr 2025 | Revised draft Regulations and Directions issued; comment window until 2025-04-30. |
| 13 Jan 2026 | Final Regulations notified in the Gazette of India (FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB). |
| 16 Jan 2026 | Directions issued; Press Release 1933 carries a 'Statement on feedback received' annex — a first for this desk. |
| 01 Oct 2026 | Regulations and Directions in force. The 2015 Regulations, both master directions and 167 circulars are superseded. |
The feedback scorecard — who asked, who won
Reproduced from RBI's Statement
on feedback received (annex to Press Release 1933; archived copy in the repo's
notes/evidence/ — the live rbidocs host is CAPTCHA-walled for bots). The commenter class
column is our inference from the annex wording; RBI names no commenters — AD banks are the only class
the annex identifies ("ADs had requested").
| # | The ask (annex wording) | Outcome | RBI response | Where it landed | Commenter class (inferred) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apply regulations uniformly to transactions in process as well as fresh transactions | accepted | Regulation modified | Regulation 1(2) | Exporters / importers |
| 2 | Definition of software may be provided | accepted | Definition provided | Regulation 2(1)(e) | Software industry |
| 3 | STPI may also be retained as the specified authority for non-physical software exports | accepted | STPI, in addition to the AD, made the specified authority for non-physical software exports | Regulation 2(1)(f) | Software industry / STPI units |
| 4 | EDF exemptions: (1) the EDF waiver in existing regulations may be continued; (2) service exports may be exempted from EDF requirements | rejected | Section 7 of FEMA, 1999 makes declaration of exports mandatory; process and timeframe made flexible for ease of doing business | - | Service exporters incl. freelancer / platform interests |
| 5 | Submission of EDF not necessary if the Shipping Bill covers all information | accepted | Clarified | Regulation 3(1) | Goods exporters |
| 6 | A traveller from India moving personal effects shall not be treated as exporter | accepted | Clarified | Regulation 3(1) | Individuals / travellers |
| 7 | Timelines for submission of EDF for services; allow service exporters a single EDF consolidating all invoice details regardless of individual invoice values | accepted | Provided | Regulation 3(2) | Service exporters |
| 8 | Relaxation in direct dispatch of documents | accepted | The concerned clause has been omitted from the final regulations | - | Exporters |
| 9 | Introduce threshold-based compliance for marking off of EDPMS and IDPMS entries | accepted | Introduced | Regulation 4(2) | SME exporters |
| 10 | Relaxation in third-party payments and receipts without requiring AD permission | accepted | Provided | Regulation 8 | Exporters / traders |
| 11 | Provide timeline for making import payments and a maximum extension period | rejected | Regulations simplified; timelines would be as per the contract | - | Importers |
| 12 | Relaxation to handle change of ADs for advance payments in exports and imports | accepted | Provided | Regulations 10(1) and 10(2) | Exporters / importers |
| 13 | Memorandum of Instructions on Project and Service Exports (PEM) may be retained | rejected | Regulations simplified; prescriptive rules removed for principle-based regulations; ADs can handle transactions as per their internal policy | - | Project / service exporters (EPC ecosystem) |
| 14 | Merchanting Trade Transaction: (1) relax same-AD routing for outward and inward remittances; (2) let ADs handle third-party receipt and payment in MTT | accepted | Provided | Regulation 16(1) | Trading houses / merchant exporters |
| 15 | ADs requested relaxation up to five working days for entering details in E/IDPMS | accepted | Provided | Regulation 18(1) | AD banks — the only commenter class RBI names |
| 16 | Specific instructions / enabler may be provided on reduction in import value | accepted | Provided | Regulation 18(1)(k) | Importers |
Watchpoints — the accountability angles
Comments are summarized; commenters are anonymous: The annex records each ask and the RBI response without names or counts — “ADs had requested” is the only attribution in the whole document. Commenter identities are extractable by RTI; a comments-disclosure template exists on the Access & RTI page.
Operational rules moved to bank “internal policy”: The Project & Service Exports memorandum (PEM) was retired in favour of ADs' internal policies. The rules freelancers actually face day-to-day are now unpublished, bank-by-bank documents — rule-making delegated to the layer with no consultation obligation.
No de minimis floor for service exports: US customs exempts exports under $2,500 from Electronic Export Information filing. Here, monthly consolidation was accepted, but no value floor: a $5 invoice carries the same legal weight as a $5m contract. The design choice — not the statute — is what lands on micro service exporters.
Enforcement asymmetry: Non-filing is a FEMA contravention (s.13, penalty up to 3× the sum involved) and banks hold proceeds until the EDPMS match. The burden lands hardest on the smallest invoices — the exact population the EDF waiver previously shielded.
Reading the pattern: organized, banked interests won timing and discretion concessions — a five-working-day window for banks, routing relief for trading houses, change-of-AD clean-ups. The largest-by-headcount unorganized class — micro service exporters, freelancers, remote-task earners — lost the substantive ask (EDF exemption) and received procedural softeners instead: monthly consolidation and a ₹10 lakh simplified closure threshold. Both facts sit in the same RBI annex; the ledger makes the trade visible.