How Do You Get an Extension of the Export Realisation Period from Your AD Bank?

An extension of the export realisation period is extra time, allowed by your AD bank, to receive and bring into India the full value of an export. It applies when the normal period under Regulation 5 is about to end, or has ended, and the buyer has not yet paid.

• Normal period: Nine months from the invoice date for services and from the shipment date for goods (Regulation 5(1)(a)).
• Rupee trade: Twelve months where the export is invoiced or settled in Indian rupees (first proviso to Regulation 5(1)).
• Who decides: The Authorised Dealer (AD) bank, on a request from the exporter citing reasons for the delay (second proviso to Regulation 5(1)).
• Test applied: The bank must be satisfied with the reasons cited. The regulation sets no fixed maximum length for the extension (Regulation 5(1)).
• Bank policy: Every AD bank must have a written internal policy and SOP that covers extensions of the realisation period (Regulation 19(1)(b)).
• Old rule: Until 30 September 2026, AD banks could extend by up to six months at a time under conditions, and other cases needed RBI approval (Master Direction, para C.20).

In short, the extension is a bank-level decision under a rule that gives the bank discretion, so the strength of your reasons and records matters most.

Any exporter whose export proceeds are still due can apply for an extension of the export realisation period. The 2026 regulations cover goods, software and services under one framework, so a freelancer billing a foreign client uses the same route as a manufacturer.

You apply to the AD bank that holds the export entry in EDPMS, in writing, citing why the payment is late. The bank checks the request against its internal policy and decides whether to allow more time.

1. Check the due date for each open invoice or shipping bill. Count nine months, or twelve for rupee invoicing, from the invoice or shipment date under Regulation 5(1). The export realisation deadline calculator can help.
2. Find your bank's published policy. Each AD bank must disclose its policy and the main features of its SOP on its website (Regulation 19(4)).
3. Write to the AD bank that handled the export, ideally before the period ends. State the invoice or shipping bill details, the amount outstanding and the reasons for the delay (second proviso to Regulation 5(1)).
4. Attach the documents your bank's policy lists. The policy must set out documents, timelines and charges for each process (Regulation 19(1)(a)).
5. Wait for the bank's decision. If it refuses, use the bank's appeal mechanism, which must be handled at a higher internal level (Regulation 19(2)).
6. Once the payment arrives, confirm that the bank has marked off the EDPMS entry (Regulation 18(1)(g)). See EDPMS closure.

The regulations do not list documents for an extension. Each AD bank sets its own list in its internal policy under Regulation 19(1)(a). The items below are what a request usually needs to show the reasons for delay; check your bank's published list before you apply.

Without an extension, the export stays overdue in EDPMS from the original due date. The longer it stays open, the more FEMA and GST consequences follow, starting with closer follow-up by the bank under Regulation 5(2).

• Advance only: If proceeds stay unrealised for more than one year after the due date or the extended period, you may export further only against full advance or an irrevocable letter of credit (Regulation 13).
• Caution list: Exporters already on RBI's caution list on 30 September 2026 stay under that order until removed (proviso to Regulation 13). See RBI exporter caution list.
• GST under LUT: For services exported under LUT, IGST with interest is due if payment is not received within fifteen days after one year, or the FEMA period including any extension, whichever is later (Rule 96A(1)(b)).
• No set-off: Set-off of export receivables against import payables is allowed only within the realisation period or extended period (Regulation 7).
• Bank follow-up: The AD bank must monitor open EDPMS entries and follow up with you for closure (Regulation 18(1)(f)).

Apply to your AD bank as early as possible, with buyer correspondence. If the money will not arrive, ask for a reduction in export value under Regulation 6 instead. See export proceeds not realised and reduction in export invoice value.

The second proviso to Regulation 5(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026 allows the extension. Regulation 19 sets how banks must handle it. These replaced the old Master Direction and the extension circulars from 1 October 2026.

• Asking late: Waiting until after the due date, when the entry already shows as overdue in EDPMS.
• No reasons: Sending a bare request without the reasons and buyer correspondence the bank must be satisfied with.
• Wrong bank: Applying to a bank other than the one holding the EDPMS entry, or splitting advance and balance across banks without telling both, as Regulation 10(1) requires.
• Old limits: Assuming the six-month cap or RBI approval route of the old Master Direction still applies after 1 October 2026.
• Ignoring GST: Forgetting to keep the bank's extension letter for LUT records under Rule 96A.
• Wrong request: Seeking repeated extensions for money that will never come, when a reduction in export value is the right request.

Every rule, deadline and form on this page is linked to its official source, checked on the dates below.

1. Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, Notification FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB dated 13 January 2026, amended up to 22 September 2026, Regulations 2(1) Explanation, 3(2), 4(2), 5, 6, 7, 10(1), 13, 18(1), 19, 20 and footnotes on FEMA 23(R)/(1)/2026-RB (checked 8 Oct 2026)
2. RBI A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 20, RBI/2025-26/194: Export and Import of Goods and Services, 16 January 2026, Paras 3, 4, 7 and Annex A (items 10 and 37, extension of period of realisation circulars of 2002 and 2006) (checked 8 Oct 2026)
3. RBI Master Direction: Export of Goods and Services (FED Master Direction No. 16/2015-16), updated as on 17 July 2026, superseded from 1 October 2026, Para C.20 (Extension of time) (checked 8 Oct 2026)
4. Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017: Rule 96A, Rule 96A(1)(b), as substituted by Notification 12/2024-CT dated 10.07.2024 (checked 8 Oct 2026)