Export Realisation and Repatriation Rules Under FEMA
Nine months from shipment or invoice, twelve if invoiced in rupees. The AD bank now decides extensions and reductions.
Every export creates a debt owed to India: the exporter must realise the full export value and repatriate it within a fixed period. The AD bank that handles the shipping documents tracks that debt until the money arrives, and the exam tests both the period and the date it runs from.
The rules changed on 1 October 2026, when RBI's new export and import regulations replaced the old Master Directions. This page gives the current position and flags where older study material differs.
You save ₹200 today
- 5 full-length mocks
- 553 questions, chapter by chapter
- Rate & risk calculations
One payment, no subscription · Valid for 2 months
Realisation Periods From 1 October 2026
Regulation 5 of the FEMA (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, as amended on 22 September 2026.
Goods (normal shipment)
Period
9 months
Clock starts from
Date of shipment
Services, including software
Period
9 months
Clock starts from
Date of invoice
Goods sent to a warehouse outside India
Period
9 months
Clock starts from
Date of sale of the goods from the warehouse
Project exports
Period
As per the contract's payment terms
Clock starts from
As per the contract
Any of the above invoiced or settled in Indian Rupees
Period
12 months
Clock starts from
Shipment, invoice or warehouse-sale date, as above
| Type of export | Period | Clock starts from |
|---|---|---|
| Goods (normal shipment) | 9 months | Date of shipment |
| Services, including software | 9 months | Date of invoice |
| Goods sent to a warehouse outside India | 9 months | Date of sale of the goods from the warehouse |
| Project exports | As per the contract's payment terms | As per the contract |
| Any of the above invoiced or settled in Indian Rupees | 12 months | Shipment, invoice or warehouse-sale date, as above |
What Changed on 1 October 2026
The 2026 Regulations, notified on 13 January 2026, superseded the 2015 export regulations, the Master Direction on Export of Goods and Services and the Master Direction on Import of Goods and Services. As first notified they gave 15 months (18 for rupee trade); an amendment dated 22 September 2026 cut that to 9 and 12 months before the rules took effect.
Two details are new. Services now run from the invoice date rather than a generic "date of export", and warehouse exports run from the date of sale abroad. Under the old regime, warehouse exports had a separate, longer period counted from shipment. The old period itself moved more than once: nine months for most of its life, fifteen months for exports up to 31 July 2020 (COVID relief), and fifteen months again from November 2025 until RBI restored nine months in June 2026.
What the AD Bank Can Do
The 2026 Regulations are principle-based: decisions that once went to RBI now sit with the AD bank, under its own internal policy and SOP.
- check_circleExtend the period: on the exporter's request citing reasons, the AD bank may allow more time if satisfied with the reasons. The Regulations set no outer cap on the extension.
- check_circleReduce the export value: where the exporter realises less than the declared value, or nothing, the AD bank may accept a reduction if satisfied with the reasons (Regulation 6).
- check_circleSmall bills on declaration: up to ₹10 lakh per shipping bill or invoice, a reduction (including non-realisation) may be allowed on the exporter's own declaration.
- check_circleMonitor and follow up: the AD bank must have systems to chase realisation within the period, and its export policy and SOP must cover extensions and adjustments, with the main features disclosed on its website.
Periods, start dates and extensions as exam questions. No signup.
The One-Year Consequence
If proceeds stay unrealised for more than one year beyond the due date (or the extended date allowed by the AD bank), the exporter may ship further only against full advance payment or an irrevocable letter of credit (Regulation 13). Exporters already on RBI's caution list on 30 September 2026 stay under that order until removed.
Terms the Questions Use
- Realisation
- Receipt of the export value, including by permitted set-off against import payables.
- Repatriation
- Bringing the realised amount into India, through the AD bank.
- Full export value
- The value declared on the Export Declaration Form (or the shipping bill at EDI ports), which is what the exporter must account for.
- Advance receipt
- Payment received before shipment. The advance and the later realisation must be routed through the same AD bank, unless the exporter informs both banks of a change. Interest paid on an export advance cannot exceed the trade credit all-in-cost ceiling.
How CCFE Tests This
Expect a direct question on the period ("within how many months must export proceeds be realised?") and a scenario question on the start date: a software invoice, a warehouse sale, a rupee-invoiced shipment. The common trap is counting from the date of realisation or the date of the bill rather than shipment or invoice.
IIBF courseware written before October 2026 describes the old Master Direction, so read each option against the rule it was written for. If a question names the old framework (status holders, RBI approval for extensions), answer it on those terms; for current practice, the AD bank decides.
FAQs
What is the export realisation period in India now?expand_more
Nine months from the date of shipment for goods and from the invoice date for services, under the FEMA (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, in force from 1 October 2026. Exports invoiced or settled in Indian Rupees get twelve months.
Can the export realisation period be extended?expand_more
Yes. The AD bank handling the export may extend it on the exporter's request if it is satisfied with the reasons. Under the 2026 Regulations this no longer needs RBI approval.
What happens if export proceeds are not realised?expand_more
The AD bank follows up, and may accept a reduced or nil realisation if the reasons are genuine. If dues stay unrealised beyond one year after the due date, further exports need full advance or an irrevocable LC.
From which date is the realisation period counted for goods sent to an overseas warehouse?expand_more
From the date the goods are sold from the warehouse, not the date of shipment.
Next steps
- Set-Off & Write-Offarrow_forward
- EDPMS & IDPMSarrow_forward
- FEMA & Trade Finance Conceptsarrow_forward
See how export rules sit among all six modules.