What Are the FEMA Rules for Export of Goods and Services?

The FEMA rules for exports cover three duties: declaring each export, realising the full export value on time, and routing the money through an authorised dealer (AD) bank that reports it to RBI. The Act sets these duties and RBI's 2026 regulations give the details.

• Declare: Every exporter of goods must declare the full export value, and every exporter of services must declare the payment details, in the form RBI specifies (FEMA section 7). Under the 2026 regulations that form is the Export Declaration Form, or EDF (Regulation 3).
• Realise: A person resident in India who is owed foreign exchange must take all reasonable steps to realise it and bring it to India within the period RBI specifies (FEMA section 8). For exports that period is nine months (Regulation 5).
• Receive: Export receipts must follow the Manner of Receipt and Payment Regulations, 2023 (Regulation 4(1)). Those regulations require receipts and payments between a person resident in India and a person outside India to go through an authorised bank or authorised person (Regulation 3(2)).
• Report: The AD bank records each export in EDPMS, closes the entry once paid, and reports all foreign trade transactions in FETERS (Regulation 18).
• Software: Software counts as a service for these regulations (Regulation 2(1)). The separate SOFTEX circulars were superseded on 1 October 2026 (A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 20, Annex).

In short, FEMA asks exporters to declare, get paid in full on time, and use an AD bank, while the bank handles most of the monitoring and reporting. For a background explainer, see what is FEMA.

The FEMA rules for exports apply to every exporter of goods, software and services from India, including individuals and small businesses. The 2026 regulations ease EDPMS closure paperwork for invoices up to ₹10 lakh. A traveller carrying personal effects out of India is not treated as an exporter.

An exporter complies with the FEMA rules for exports by declaring the export on an EDF, receiving payment through an AD bank within the realisation period, and making sure the bank closes the EDPMS entry. Most of the reporting to RBI is done by the AD bank.

1. Pick one AD bank to handle the export. If you receive an advance, route the advance and the later realisation through the same AD bank, or tell both banks if you switch (Regulation 10(1)). See what is an authorised dealer bank.
2. Declare the export. Goods exporters file the EDF at the time of export, and at EDI ports it is deemed part of the shipping bill (Regulation 3(1)).
3. Services exporters file the EDF within 30 days from the end of the month in which the invoice is raised. One EDF can cover all exports of that month (Regulation 3(2)). See EDF form for exports.
4. Receive the full export value within nine months of shipment (goods) or invoice (services), or twelve months if invoiced or settled in rupees (Regulation 5(1)).
5. Let the AD bank verify the transaction. It credits your account only after satisfying itself that the transaction is genuine, and closes or updates the EDPMS entry at the same time (Regulation 4(2)).
6. If payment will be late or short, ask the AD bank for an extension or a reduction in export value, giving reasons (Regulations 5 and 6).
7. Track open entries. The AD bank must follow up on outstanding EDPMS entries (Regulation 18(1)(f)), and you can check status with it. See how to check EDPMS outstanding.

The main FEMA deadlines for exports are the EDF filing date and the realisation period. Both depend on whether you export goods or services and the currency of the invoice. The table sets out each one under the 2026 regulations.

If an exporter breaks the FEMA rules for exports, the export stays open in EDPMS and the exporter can face a FEMA penalty after adjudication. Long delays also restrict how future exports can be paid for, and GST benefits on unpaid exports can be lost.

• FEMA penalty: Up to three times the sum involved where quantifiable, or up to ₹2 lakh where not, plus up to ₹5,000 for each day a contravention continues (FEMA section 13(1)).
• Advance only: If proceeds remain unrealised for more than one year after the due or extended date, further exports are allowed only against full advance or an irrevocable letter of credit (Regulation 13).
• Caution list: Exporters on RBI's caution list as on 30 September 2026 stay governed by that order until removed (proviso to Regulation 13). See RBI exporter caution list.
• GST on LUT: Services exported under LUT become liable to tax with interest if payment is not received within 15 days after one year from the invoice, or the FEMA period including extensions, whichever is later (CGST Rule 96A(1)(b)).
• Compounding: A contravention under section 13 may be compounded on an application by the person who committed it (FEMA section 15). See FEMA penalties and compounding.

Speak to your AD bank before the deadline. Ask for an extension of the EDF or realisation period, or a reduction in export value, and give reasons with buyer correspondence. Each AD bank must publish its policy and main SOP features on its website, including an appeal to a higher internal level (Regulation 19). See export proceeds not realised.

FEMA sections 7 and 8 set the duty to declare and realise exports, and RBI's Export and Import of Goods and Services Regulations, 2026 set the details from 1 October 2026. A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 20 gives the matching directions to AD banks and supersedes the old Master Direction.

• Old rulebook: Following the Master Direction on Export of Goods and Services after 1 October 2026, when the 2026 regulations and Circular No. 20 apply.
• 15 months: Relying on the fifteen-month realisation period that was cut back to nine months by the 22 September 2026 amendment.
• No EDF: Assuming only goods exporters file an EDF. Regulation 3(2) requires services exporters to file one within 30 days from the end of the invoice month.
• SOFTEX habit: Continuing to prepare SOFTEX forms for software exports after 1 October 2026 without checking the EDF process with the AD bank or STPI.
• Split banks: Taking an advance through one AD bank and the balance through another without telling both, as Regulation 10(1) requires.
• Late requests: Asking for an extension or reduction only after the deadline has passed, with no record of efforts to collect from the buyer.

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, Preamble; Regulations 1 to 8, 10, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20; 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 2, 4 and 7; Annex A list of superseded export circulars (checked 8 Oct 2026)
3. The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (India Code), Sections 7, 8, 13(1) and 15(1) (checked 8 Oct 2026)
4. Foreign Exchange Management (Manner of Receipt and Payment) Regulations, 2023, FEMA 14(R)/2023-RB, amended up to 12 February 2025, Regulation 3(1) and 3(2)(I) (checked 8 Oct 2026)
5. Foreign Exchange Management (Export of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2015, FEMA 23(R)/2015-RB, Superseded by the 2026 regulations from 1 October 2026 (checked 8 Oct 2026)
6. RBI Master Direction: Export of Goods and Services (FED Master Direction No. 16/2015-16), updated to 17 July 2026, superseded from 1 October 2026, Contents (Parts A to D) and para A.2 (checked 8 Oct 2026)
7. Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017: Rule 96A, Rule 96A(1)(b) (checked 8 Oct 2026)