Export Realisation Deadline Calculator (FEMA 9 Month Rule)

The export realisation deadline calculator adds nine calendar months to the invoice date for services, or to the shipment date for goods. It adds twelve months if the export is invoiced or settled in Indian rupees. For services it also adds 30 days to the last day of the invoice month to give the EDF deadline.

Realisation deadline = start date + 9 months (or + 12 months if invoiced or settled in INR); start date = invoice date (services) or shipment date (goods). EDF deadline (services) = last day of invoice month + 30 days. Advance-only trigger = realisation deadline (or extended date) + 1 year.

For example, a designer invoices a US client in USD on 12 October 2026. The realisation deadline is 12 July 2027, nine months later. The EDF for October 2026 is due by 30 November 2026, which is 30 days after 31 October. If the same invoice were raised in rupees, the realisation deadline would be 12 October 2027. If the client still had not paid by 12 July 2028, one year after the due date, further exports would need full advance or an irrevocable letter of credit.

1. Enter the invoice date for a service, or the shipment date for goods.
2. Choose goods or services. Software counts as a service under the 2026 regulations.
3. Choose the invoice currency: a foreign currency, or Indian rupees if the export is invoiced or settled in INR.
4. For services, choose software or another service. Exporters of services other than software may file the EDF on or before the payment date instead.
5. Read the realisation deadline, the EDF deadline and the follow-on dates, and add them to your compliance calendar.
6. If the buyer may pay late, contact your AD bank before the realisation deadline to request an extension.

The result shows the latest date by which the full export value should reach your AD bank in India. A deadline months away needs only tracking. A deadline within a few weeks with no payment in sight means you should ask your AD bank for an extension or a reduction in value now.

• Realisation date: Payment received on or before this date meets the rule in Regulation 5 without any request to the bank.
• EDF date: The date by which a service exporter should give the EDF to the AD bank, unless the bank extends it.
• One-year mark: If proceeds stay unrealised for more than a year after the due or extended date, later exports can only be made against full advance or an irrevocable letter of credit.
• GST link: For services exported under LUT, unpaid invoices trigger a GST payment with interest 15 days after one year from the invoice, or after the FEMA period with extensions if that is later.

• Rules used: The Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, in force from 1 October 2026, as amended on 22 September 2026 to set nine and twelve months.
• Date counting: The calculator adds calendar months. Where the end month has no matching day, such as 31 May plus nine months, it uses the last day of that month. The regulations do not spell out the counting method, so confirm close dates with your AD bank.
• Older exports: Invoices and shipments dated before 1 October 2026 fell under the 2015 export regulations, whose period was changed several times. The calculator shows a warning for those dates. Check the applicable period with your AD bank.
• Not covered: Goods sent to an overseas warehouse (nine months from the date of sale), project exports (contract terms), merchanting trade and advance receipts are not calculated.
• Extensions: The calculator does not predict an extension. The AD bank decides each request under its own published policy, and the regulations set no fixed cap.

• Wrong start date: For services the period runs from the invoice date. Counting from the delivery date or the date the client was due to pay gives a later and incorrect deadline.
• Rupee invoices: Twelve months applies only where the export is invoiced or settled in Indian rupees. A foreign currency invoice paid in foreign currency gets nine months.
• Late extension: Waiting until after the deadline to contact the AD bank. The bank grants extensions on a request citing reasons for the delay, so ask before the date passes.
• Missed EDF: Service exporters must furnish an EDF to the AD bank under Regulation 3(2) of the 2026 regulations, in force from 1 October 2026. Software exporters cannot use the option to file on the payment date.
• Small invoices: Leaving small entries open in EDPMS. For invoices up to Rs 10 lakh, an exporter can close entries with a realisation declaration, one by one or quarterly in bulk.

The deadlines come from Regulation 5 of the FEMA Export and Import Regulations, 2026, which also sets the EDF timing in Regulation 3 and the one-year rule in Regulation 13. RBI's A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 20 brings them into force. CGST Rule 96A links LUT exports to these periods.

Related guides: export realisation period, extension of export realisation period, edf form export, export proceeds not realised.

Every rule and fee is linked to its official or first-party source below with the date it was checked. The full method is on the methodology page.

1. RBI: Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026 (Notification No. FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB, as amended), Reg 1(2) in force 1 Oct 2026; Explanation to Reg 2(1) services include software; Reg 3(1) and 3(2) EDF timing; proviso to Reg 4(2) Rs 10 lakh declaration; Reg 5(1) nine months, twelve months for INR, AD bank extension; Reg 13 one year rule; footnotes: amended by FEMA 23(R)/(1)/2026-RB dated 22 Sep 2026, fifteen to nine and eighteen to twelve months (checked 8 Oct 2026)
2. RBI A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 20, Export and Import of Goods and Services, 16 January 2026, Regulations and directions effective from 1 October 2026; Master Directions on export and import superseded (checked 8 Oct 2026)
3. RBI: Foreign Exchange Management (Export of Goods and Services) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2026, 5 June 2026, Regulation 9 of the 2015 regulations: 'fifteen months' replaced by 'nine months' (checked 8 Oct 2026)
4. CBIC: Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, Rule 96A, Rule 96A(1)(b): tax with interest within fifteen days after one year, or the FEMA period including RBI-permitted extension, whichever is later, from the invoice date, if payment for services is not received (checked 8 Oct 2026)