FEMA & FDI Ready Reckoner

FEMA & FDI Ready Reckoner is a comprehensive, topic-wise treatise that consolidates the entire law and practice of India's foreign exchange and foreign investment regime into a single, quick-reference volume of 55 chapters (plus a supplementary Chapter 14A), running through a Subject Index. It weaves together, subject by subject, the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and its rules and regulations, the RBI's Master Directions and A.P. (DIR Series) circulars, the Non-Debt Instruments and Overseas Investment Rules/Regulations, the consolidated FDI Policy, and the relevant judicial precedents—so that the reader gets the statutory provision, the regulator's operating instructions, and the case-law position on any given topic in one place.

The book earns its 'Ready Reckoner' name through its structure: every subject is handled in a self-contained chapter organised with granular decimal paragraph numbering, letting a professional locate a precise point and act on it without wading through the bare Act. Explanations are in plain, application-oriented language and are anchored to their source through references to the governing sections, rules, regulations, Master Directions, and circulars.

This Edition has been fully updated to reflect the law as it stands on 28th June 2026, including the newly notified Foreign Exchange Management (Authorised Persons) Regulations 2026, together with the latest FDI policy positions and RBI regulatory changes. Twenty-five editions of continuous revision make it one of the most established and trusted desk references in the field.

The book is written for anyone who has to understand, apply, or advise on cross-border transactions under Indian law, including:

• Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries, Cost Accountants, and Lawyers advising on FEMA/FDI compliance, structuring, reporting, and litigation
• Authorised Dealer (AD) Banks, Forex Desks, and Treasury/Trade-Finance Teams that must operate within RBI directions day to day
• CFOs, Finance Controllers, and In-house Legal/Compliance Teams of companies engaged in exports, imports, foreign investment, or overseas expansion
• Foreign Investors, FPIs, FVCIs, Private Equity/Venture-Capital Funds, and MNCs setting up or operating in India (including through branch, liaison, or project offices)
• Indian Entities Making Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) and availing external commercial borrowings or trade credit
• NRIs and OCIs dealing with bank accounts, investments, immovable property, and remittance of assets
• Startups Raising Foreign Capital and structuring cross-border ownership
• Compliance and Reporting Officers responsible for RBI filings and returns
• Students, Academicians, and Professional-exam Candidates needing an organised, current grasp of FEMA and FDI

The Present Publication is the 25th Edition | July 2026, amended up to 28th June 2026. This book is authored by Taxmann's Editorial Board with the following noteworthy features:

• Consolidated, Single-source Treatment – Each topic brings together the statute, the applicable rules and regulations, the RBI Master Directions and A.P. (DIR Series) circulars, the FDI policy, and the relevant case law—sparing the reader from cross-referencing multiple sources
• True Ready-reckoner Format – Self-contained chapters (numbered 1–55, plus a Chapter 14A) with granular decimal paragraph numbering make it fast to locate and resolve a specific FEMA/FDI question
• Fully Updated – Incorporates the Foreign Exchange Management (Authorised Persons) Regulations 2026, the current FDI policy, and the latest RBI notifications
• Heavily Practical Apparatus – The book is rich in step-by-step procedures, reporting forms and returns, formats, annexures, and worked examples/illustrations—with several hundred pointers to RBI Master Directions and circulars threaded through the text
• 'At A Glance' Sector Tables – Sector-wise FDI limits, entry routes, and conditions are tabulated and mapped to the schedules of the Non-Debt Instruments Rules and the paragraphs of the FDI policy for at-a-glance reference
• Case Law Integrated Topic-wise – Supreme Court, High Court, and Tribunal decisions (with citations) are placed alongside the provisions they interpret—especially on export realisation, offences, penalties, and compounding
• Allied Laws in One Volume – Goes beyond FEMA to cover PMLA, FCRA, and COFEPOSA, plus the IFSC regime, giving a rounded view of India's cross-border compliance landscape
• Anchored to the Source – Includes section, rule, regulation, Master Direction, and circular references throughout, plus a detailed Subject Index for pin-point navigation

The Reckoner covers the full spectrum of FEMA and FDI, organised into the following broad areas:

• Foundations and Dealings in Foreign Exchange
  • Overview of FEMA and the RBI's role as the overall controlling authority; suspension of the Act in extraordinary situations
  • Authorised Persons (updated for the 2026 Regulations), money-changing activities, and the Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS)
  • Receipt, payment, realisation, repatriation, and surrender of foreign exchange; the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) mechanism
  • Possession/retention and export/import of currency; foreign exchange rates and inter-bank dealings
• Bank Accounts in Foreign Exchange
  • Accounts in India held by persons resident outside India (NRO/NRE/FCNR-type accounts)
  • Foreign-currency accounts of Indian residents
• Current Account Transactions
  • Remittances on current account (permissible/restricted transactions)
  • Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS)
• Export and Import of Goods and Services
  • Export of goods and services; import of goods and services; realisation and repatriation of export proceeds
  • Project exports and service exports
• Capital Account Transactions and Foreign Investment in India
  • Overview of capital account transactions
  • FDI in Indian companies, LLPs, startups, and through GDRs/ADRs
  • Sector-wise FDI policy 'at a glance'; downstream (indirect) investment
  • FDI through rights, bonus, sweat equity, and merger/amalgamation; transfer of securities; entry routes and pricing
  • Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), investment vehicles, and FVCIs
  • Investment by NRIs/OCIs and by foreign central banks and funds
  • Related reporting and returns—e.g., issue of capital instruments (Form FC-GPR), transfer of capital instruments (Form FC-TRS), and the Annual Return on Foreign Liabilities and Assets (FLA)
• Overseas Investment, Borrowing, and Lending
  • Overseas (direct) investment by Indian entities and related guarantees; insurance
  • Borrowing and lending in foreign exchange and in Indian rupees (including with NRIs/PIOs)
  • Foreign investment in debt instruments
  • External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) and trade credit
• Property, Remittances, and Establishments
  • Acquisition and transfer of immovable property in India and outside India
  • Remittance of assets
  • Branch office/liaison office/project office in India by foreign entities
  • Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs); risk management and inter-bank dealings; Vostro accounts for international trade
• Enforcement and Allied Laws
  • Industrial policy of the Government of India
  • Enforcement of FEMA—adjudication, penalties, appeals (to the Appellate Tribunal), and compounding of contraventions, illustrated with case law
  • Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)
  • Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA)
  • COFEPOSA 1974
  • International Financial Services Centre (IFSC)

The book runs to 55 chapters (plus a supplementary Chapter 14A) followed by a Subject Index, moving logically from the general to the specific, and each chapter is built to stand alone:

• Foundational Chapters – Introduce FEMA, the RBI's controlling role, and the machinery of Authorised Persons and forex dealings
• Transaction-based Chapters – Work through current account transactions (remittances, LRS) and the export/import of goods and services, including realisation and repatriation
• Foreign-investment Chapters – The core FDI block (routes, sector caps, downstream investment, transfers, pricing, FPIs, FVCIs, and investment vehicles), followed by outbound topics such as overseas investment, ECB, and trade credit
• Property, Establishment, and Market-infrastructure Chapters – Address immovable property, remittance of assets, branch/LO/project offices, IDRs, and inter-bank dealings
• Enforcement and Allied-law Chapters – Close the book with penalties, appeals, compounding, and the connected regimes of PMLA, FCRA, COFEPOSA, and IFSC
• Within each chapter, granular, decimal-numbered paragraphs blend the statutory text with the RBI's operating instructions, procedures, forms/formats, and interpretive case law, while the Subject Index provides an additional route to pinpoint specific provisions