Key Details
The RBI’s Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026 change how certain service transactions are declared and recorded. Issued on 2 November, the amendment states that it came into force on 1 October 2026.
Transaction | What Changes |
|---|---|
Service exports by a resident individual | The Export Declaration Form (EDF) is deemed submitted when the person gives an authorised dealer bank the information required to credit the service payment to their account. No transaction-value ceiling is specified for this provision. |
Service exports by other exporters | The same treatment applies when the inward remittance for the service is not more than ₹10 lakh, or the foreign-currency equivalent. |
Service imports | An authorised dealer bank must enter the transaction in the Import Data Processing and Monitoring System (IDPMS) only when the importer is not a resident individual and the invoice or contract value is more than ₹10 lakh. The bank then has five working days from receiving the details to make the entry. |
Bank Payment Details Can Serve as the Export Declaration
The Export Declaration Form (EDF) records the value of an export under India’s foreign-exchange rules. For resident individuals selling services abroad, the amendment means that giving the bank the information it needs to receive and credit payment also counts as submitting the EDF. Independent professionals earning from overseas clients are among those for whom this distinction may matter.
The provision does not dispense with bank documentation. For a company or other non-individual exporter, the ₹10 lakh limit is measured against the inward remittance for the service, not an annual turnover threshold.
Smaller Service Imports No Longer Require the Specified Bank Entry
The import-side change operates differently: it limits when banks must record a service import in IDPMS. It excludes imports by resident individuals from that particular entry requirement and applies a ₹10 lakh invoice-or-contract-value threshold to other importers.
This is a reduction in bank-level reporting under the amended provision. It should not be read as removing payment documentation, tax obligations or other applicable checks for people buying services from abroad.
Policy Relevance
The amendment makes receiving overseas service income less procedurally demanding for individuals and small-value exporters while leaving the bank with the transaction information. Its usefulness will depend on banks applying the deemed-submission rule consistently, so eligible earners are not asked for a separate EDF despite having supplied the required payment details.
The two ₹10 lakh tests also need to remain distinct in practice: inward remittance value for service exports and invoice or contract value for service imports. Clear bank guidance on those tests would help smaller businesses understand which reporting route applies.
Follow the Full RBI Notification Here: Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026