UNLISTED INDIAN COMPANIES ALLOWED ON A PILOT BASIS FOR A PERIOD OF TWO YEARS TO LIST AND RAISE CAPITAL ABROAD WITHOUT THE REQUIREMENT OF PRIOR OR SUBSEQUENT LISTING IN INDIA

UNLISTED INDIAN COMPANIES ALLOWED ON A PILOT BASIS FOR A PERIOD OF TWO YEARS TO LIST AND RAISE CAPITAL ABROAD WITHOUT THE REQUIREMENT OF PRIOR OR SUBSEQUENT LISTING IN INDIA

 At present, unlisted companies that are incorporated in India are not allowed to directly list in overseas markets without prior or simultaneous listing in Indian markets. It has now been decided with the approval of the Union Finance Minister that unlisted companies may be allowed to raise capital abroad without the requirement of prior or subsequent listing in India.

This scheme will be implemented on a pilot basis for a period of two years from the date of notification of the scheme. After the initial two year period, the impact of this arrangement will be reviewed.

The approval to list abroad is subject to the following conditions:

 Unlisted companies may be allowed to list abroad only on exchanges in IOSCO/FATF compliant jurisdictions or those jurisdictions with which SEBI has signed bilateral agreements;

 The Companies shall file a copy of the return which they submit to the proposed exchange/regulators also to SEBI for the purpose of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). They shall comply with SEBI’s disclosure requirements in addition to that of the primary exchange prior to the listing abroad;

 While raising resources abroad, the listing company shall be fully compliant with the FDI Policy in force;

 The capital raised abroad may be utilised for retiring outstanding overseas debt or for operations abroad including for acquisitions;

 In case the funds raised are not utilised abroad as stipulated above, such companies shall remit the money back to India within 15 days and such money shall be parked only in AD category banks recognised by RBI.

Ministry of Finance (MoF), Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would be issuing the necessary notifications in due course in order to implement the required changes to the existing rules.

Ref_ PIB dated 27 -09-2013

 

External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) Policy –Refinancing / Rescheduling of ECB

External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) Policy –
Refinancing / Rescheduling of ECB

As per the extant guidelines, the eligible borrowers desirous of refinancing an existing ECB can raise fresh ECB at a higher all-in-cost / reschedule an existing ECB at a higher all-in-cost under the approval route subject to the condition that the enhanced all-in-cost does not exceed the all-in-cost ceiling prescribed as per extant guidelines.

 On a review, it has been decided to discontinue this facility allowing eligible borrowers to raise ECB at a higher all-in-cost to refinance / reschedule an existing ECB with effect from October 01, 2013.

 The scheme of refinance of existing ECB by raising fresh ECB at lower all-in-cost, subject to the condition that the outstanding maturity of the original ECB is either maintained or extended, will continue as hitherto under the automatic route and approval route as the case may be.


Ref : A.P.  (DIR Series) Circular No. 59 dated September 30, 2013

ECB proceeds for acquisition of shares under the Government’s disinvestment programme of PSUs - Clarification

ECB proceeds for acquisition of shares under the Government’s disinvestment programme of PSUs - Clarification

ECB proceeds is permitted to be used in the first stage acquisition of shares in the disinvestment process and also in the mandatory second stage offer to the public under the Government’s disinvestment programme of the public sector undertakings (PSUs) shares.


2. It is clarified that ECB is allowed for all subsequent stages of acquisition of shares in the disinvestment process under the Government’s disinvestment programme of the PSU shares; in other words, facility of ECB is available for multiple rounds of disinvestment of PSU shares under the Government disinvestment programme.

A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 57 \September 30, 2013

 

Relaxation in conditions for trade Credits for Import into India

Relaxation in conditions for trade Credits for Import into India

As per the extant guidelines, AD Category - I banks may approve availing of trade credit not exceeding USD 20 million up to a maximum period of five years (from the date of shipment) for companies in the infrastructure sector, subject to certain terms and conditions stipulated therein. It is also stipulated that AD Category - I banks are not permitted to issue Letters of Credit/guarantees/Letter of Undertaking (LoU) /Letter of Comfort (LoC) in favour of overseas supplier, bank and financial institution for the extended period beyond three years. No roll-over/extension is permitted beyond the permissible period.

3. On a review, it has been decided to allow companies in all sectors to avail of trade credit not exceeding USD 20 million up to a maximum period of five years for import of capital goods as classified by Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). It has also been decided to relax the ab-initio contract period of 15 (fifteen) months for all trade credits to 6 (six) months.

Export of Goods and Services – Project Exports- Submission of Forms like DPXI , PEX dispensed with.

Export of Goods and Services – Project Exports- Submission of Forms like DPXI , PEX dispensed with.

With specific reference to Para B.7, Para B.9, Para C.5 and Para C.6 of Memorandum of Instructions on Project and Service Exports (PEM), enclosed to A. P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 32 dated October 28, 2003, it has been decided that submission of forms DPX1, PEX-1, TCS-1 and DPX-3, to the Office of the Reserve Bank of India (Foreign Exchange Department) within whose jurisdiction the Head Office of the exporter is situated, by the Approving Authority (AA) such as AD Bank / Exim Bank/ Working Group may be dispensed with. However, submission of these forms to ECGC and Exim Bank where their participatory interests by way of funded / non-funded facilities, insurance /risk cover, etc are involved may continue.

Ref -A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 51 September 20, 2013

Opening of Trading Office / Non-Trading Office / Branch Office/ Representative Office abroad

Opening of Trading Office / Non-Trading Office / Branch Office/ Representative Office abroad

On a review, it has been decided to discontinue the practice of forwarding the statement in Form ORA to the respective Regional Office of Reserve Bank by the Authorized Dealers. Authorized Dealers may, however, continue to maintain the particulars of approvals granted for opening of Trading Office / Non-Trading Office / Branch Office/ Representative Office at their end.



Ref-A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 50 September 20, 2

External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) Policy – Liberalisation of definition of Infrastructure Sector

External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) Policy – Liberalisation of definition of Infrastructure Sector

The existing definition of infrastructure sector for the purpose of availing ECB includes: (i) power, (ii) telecommunication, (iii) railways, (iv) road including bridges, (v) sea port and airport (vi) industrial parks (vii) urban infrastructure (water supply, sanitation and sewage projects), (viii) mining, exploration and refining, (ix) cold storage or cold room facility, including farm level pre-cooling, for preservation or storage of agricultural and allied produce, marine products and meat.

3. Taking into account the Harmonised Master List of Infrastructure sub-sectors and Institutional Mechanism for its updation approved by Government of India vide Notification F. No. 13/06/2009-INF dated March 27, 2012, it has been decided to expand the existing definition for infrastructure sector for the purpose of availing ECB. The expanded infrastructure sector and sub-sectors for the purpose of ECB include:

(a) Energy which will include (i) electricity generation, (ii) electricity transmission, (iii) electricity distribution, (iv) oil pipelines, (v) oil/gas/liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility (includes strategic storage of crude oil) and (vi) gas pipelines (includes city gas distribution network);

(b) Communication which will include (i) mobile telephony services / companies providing cellular services, (ii) fixed network telecommunication (includes optic fibre / cable networks which provide broadband / internet) and (iii) telecommunication towers;


(c) Transport which will include (i) railways (railway track, tunnel, viaduct, bridges and includes supporting terminal infrastructure such as loading / unloading terminals, stations and buildings), (ii) roads and bridges, (iii) ports, (iv) inland waterways, (v) airport and (vi) urban public transport (except rolling stock in case of urban road transport);

(d) Water and sanitation which will include (i) water supply pipelines, (ii) solid waste management, (iii) water treatment plants, (iv) sewage projects (sewage collection, treatment and disposal system), (v) irrigation (dams, channels, embankments, etc.) and (vi) storm water drainage system;

(e) (i) mining, (ii) exploration and (iii) refining;

(f) Social and commercial infrastructure which will include (i) hospitals (capital stock and includes medical colleges and para medical training institutes), (ii) Hotel Sector which will include hotels with fixed capital investment of Rs. 200 crore and above, convention centres with fixed capital investment of Rs. 300 crore and above and three star or higher category classified hotels located outside cities with population of more than 1 million (fixed capital investment is excluding of land value), (iii) common infrastructure for industrial parks, SEZs, tourism facilities, (iv) fertilizer (capital investment), (v) post harvest storage infrastructure for agriculture and horticulture produce including cold storage, (vi) soil testing laboratories and (vii) cold chain (includes cold room facility for farm level pre-cooling, for preservation or storage or agriculture and allied produce, marine products and meat.

Definition for control and sector specific conditions under FDI

Definition for control and sector specific conditions under FDI

It has been decided to revise the definition of the term ‘control’ as under;

'Control' shall include the right to appoint a majority of the directors or to control the management or policy decisions including by virtue of their shareholding or management rights or shareholders agreements or voting agreements.

4. Government of Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka have given consent to implement the FDI policy on Multi Brand Retail Trading in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka respectively. As such, the list of States/Union Territories which have conveyed their concurrence stands modified. Further, the extant policy on FDI caps and routes for various sectors has since been reviewed. Accordingly, in order to bring uniformity in the sectoral classification position for FDI as notified under the Consolidated FDI Policy Circular with the FEMA Regulations, Annex B of Schedule 1 to Notification No. FEMA. 20/2000-RB dated 3rd May 2000, has been suitably revised and the updated list is given at the Annex.

A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 44 dated September 13, 2013

Simplification and Revision of Declaration Form for Exports of Goods/Softwares

 Simplification and Revision of Declaration Form for Exports of Goods/Softwares

In order to simplify the existing form used for declaration of exports of Goods/Softwares, a common form called “Export Declaration Form” (EDF) has been devised to declare all types of export of goods from Non-EDI ports and a common “SOFTEX Form” to declare single as well as bulk software exports. The EDF will replace the existing GR/PP form used for declaration of export of Goods. The procedure relating to the exports of goods through EDI ports will remain the same and SDF form will be applicable as hitherto.

3. Under the revised procedure, the exporters will have to declare all the export transactions, including those less than US$25000, in the form as applicable.

4. Reserve Bank of India will be extending the facilities to exporters for online generation of SOFTEX Form No. (Single as well as Bulk) for use in Off-Site Software exports, in addition to EDF Form No. (Present web-based process of generation of GR Form No. gets replaced) through its website www.rbi.org.in . In order to generate the above number, the applicant has to fill-in the online form (Path www.rbi.org.in → Forms → FEMA → Forms Printing EDF/SOFTEX Form No.), thereafter, the related EDF/SOFTEX Form No. would be generated for each transaction by the applicant exporter. The specimen of online form and the advice are given in Annex III. The present facility of manual allotment of single as well bulk SOFTEX form number by Regional Offices of RBI would be dispensed with accordingly.

5. The Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) requires exporters to complete the EDF/SOFTEX Form using the number so allotted and submit them to the specified authority first for certification and then to AD for necessary action as hitherto.

Ref:A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No.43   dated September 13,2013

Foreign Investment in India – Guidelines for calculation of total foreign investment in Indian companies, transfer of ownership and control of Indian companies and downstream investment by Indian companies

Foreign Investment in India – Guidelines for calculation of total foreign investment in Indian companies, transfer of ownership and control of Indian companies and downstream investment by Indian companies

DIR Series) Circular No. 1 dated July 04, 2013	Earlier Condition	Revised condition
ParaE 6 (ii) (d)	For the purpose of downstream investment, the Indian companies making the downstream investments would have to bring in requisite funds from abroad and not use funds borrowed in the domestic market. This would, however, not preclude downstream operating companies, from raising debt in the domestic market. Downstream investments through internal accruals are permissible by an Indian company engaged only in activity of investing in the capital of another Indian company/ies, subject to the provisions above and as also elaborated below:	For the purpose of downstream investment, the Indian companies making the downstream investments would have to bring in requisite funds from abroad and not use funds borrowed in the domestic market. This would, however, not preclude downstream operating companies, from raising debt in the domestic market. Downstream investments through internal accruals are permissible by an Indian company, subject to the provisions of clause 6(i) and as also elaborated below

Issue of corporate guarantee on behalf of second generation or subsequent level step down operating subsidiaries

 
Issue of corporate guarantee on behalf of second generation or subsequent level step down operating subsidiaries

It has also been decided that issue of corporate guarantee on behalf of second generation or subsequent level step down operating subsidiaries will be considered under the Approval Route, provided the Indian Party directly or indirectly holds 51 per cent or more stake in the overseas subsidiary for which such guarantee is intended to be issued.”

2. The contents of the paragraph are amended to read as under:

“(b) Further, it has also been decided that issue of corporate guarantee on behalf of second generation or subsequent level step down operating subsidiaries will be considered under the Approval Route, provided the Indian Party indirectly holds 51 per cent or more stake in the overseas subsidiary for which such guarantee is intended to be issued.”


Ref -A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 41 dated September 10, 2013

Issue of Bank Guarantee on behalf of person resident outside India for FDI transactions

Issue of Bank Guarantee on behalf of person resident outside India for FDI transactions

In order to provide operational flexibility and ease the procedures, it has been decided to permit AD Category –I bank to issue bank guarantee, without prior approval of the Reserve Bank, on behalf of a non-resident acquiring shares or convertible debentures of an Indian company through open offers/ delisting/exit offers, provided :

a) the transaction is in compliance with the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeover) [SEBI(SAST)] Regulations;

b) the guarantee given by the AD Category –I bank is covered by a counter guarantee of a bank of international repute.

It may be noted that the guarantee shall be valid for a tenure co-terminus with the offer period as required under the SEBI (SAST) Regulations.

3. In case of invocation of the guarantee, the AD Category-I bank is required to submit to the Chief General Manager-in-Charge, Foreign Exchange Department, Reserve Bank of India, Central Office, Mumbai 400 001, a report on the circumstances leading to the invocation of the guarantee.

Clarifications on Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS)

Clarifications on Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS)

S. No.	Query	Answer / Clarification
1	Whether LRS can be used for acquisition of both unlisted and listed shares of an overseas company?	In terms of the extant FEMA provisions LRS can be used to acquire both listed and unlisted shares of an overseas company. The Master Circular dated July 1, 2013 has been suitably modified.
2	Can a resident individual use the other limits under Schedule III to FEM CAT Rules 2000, as amended from time to time, such as remittances for education, health / medical expenses over and above the LRS limit?	As per the current guidelines of LRS, only gift and donation (from the list of items under Schedule III to FEM CAT Rules, 2000), by a resident individual have been subsumed under the LRS limit. For all other purposes such as educational and medical expenses the limits of LRS and Schedule III to FEM CAT Rules 2000 are separate, distinct, mutually exclusive and over and above each other respectively. In this context, it may be noted that under the extant guidelines under FEMA the following remittances can be made over and above the annual limit of USD 75000 permissible under LRS: A resident individual can make remittances for meeting expenses for medical treatment abroad up to the estimate from a doctor in India or hospital/ doctor abroad  under general permission (without any RBI approval – Para 9 of Schedule III to FEM CAT Rules, 2000, as amended from time to time). A resident individual can make remittances up to USD 25,000 for maintenance expenses of a patient going abroad for medical treatment or check-up abroad or for accompanying as attendant to a patient going abroad for medical treatment/ check-up (without any RBI approval – Para 8 of Schedule III to FEM CAT Rules, 2000, as amended from time to time). A resident individual can make remittances for studies up to the estimates from the institutions abroad or USD 100,000, whichever is higher (without any RBI approval – Para 10 of Schedule III to FEM CAT Rules, 2000, as amended from time to time). This is over and above the remittance limit of USD 75,000 which can be made under the LRS route for the same. A resident individual can also make all other remittances (other than donation and gifts) as stipulated under Schedules III to FEM CAT Rules, 2000, as amended from time to time.  A resident individual can also carry out other permissible current account transactions (transactions which are not explicitly prohibited under Schedule I, or restricted under Schedules II and III, to FEM CAT Rules, 2000, as amended from time to time) without any limits through an AD Bank in India subject to the AD bank verifying the bonafides of the transaction (para 6 to Annex 1 of ADMA Circular No.11 dated May 16, 2000).   Therefore notwithstanding the revised guidelines and reduction in the LRS limit these guidelines do not affect genuine transactions.
3	As per para 2 (iii) of AP (Dir Series) Circular No.24 dated August 14, 2013 Notification FEMA 263/2013-RB is dated August 5, 2013 but the said Notification as available on the website is dated March 5, 2013? What is the correct date of this Notification?	The said Notification is dated March 5, 2013 but gazetted on August 5, 2013. As per Regulation 1(ii) of this Notification, this Notification shall come into force from the date of publication in Official Gazette, accordingly the effective date of this notification is August 5, 2013 (while the date of the notification is March 5, 2013).
4	Can resident individuals make remittances under LRS for investments in immovable properties abroad which were acquired under instalment basis?	Resident individuals are permitted to make remittances for acquiring immovable property within the annual limit of USD 75000 for already contracted cases, i.e. only for those contracts which were entered into on or before the date of the circular, i.e., August 14, 2013, subject to satisfaction of the genuineness of the transactions by the AD bank. Such cases should be immediately reported post facto to the Reserve Bank of India by the A D banks

 Ref: RBI/2013-14/222- A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No.32 dated September 04, 2013

External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) from the foreign equity holder

External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) from the foreign equity holder

On a review, it has been decided to permit eligible borrowers to avail of ECB under the approval route from their foreign equity holder company with minimum average maturity of 7 years for general corporate purposes subject to the following conditions:

1. Minimum paid-up equity of 25 per cent should be held directly by the lender;
   
2. Such ECBs would not be used for any purpose not permitted under extant the ECB guidelines (including on-lending to their group companies / step-down subsidiaries in India); and
   
3. Repayment of the principal shall commence only after completion of minimum average maturity of 7 years. No prepayment will be allowed before maturity.

4. The above modifications to the ECB guidelines will come into force with immediate effect. All other aspects of extant ECB guidelines shall remain unchanged.

Liberalised Remittance Scheme for Resident Individuals- Reduction of limit from USD 200,000 to USD 75,000

Liberalised Remittance Scheme for Resident Individuals- Reduction of limit from USD 200,000 to USD 75,000

On a review of the scheme, it has now been decided to reduce the existing limit of USD 200,000 per financial year to USD 75,000 per financial year (April - March) with immediate effect. Accordingly, AD Category – I banks may now allow remittance up to USD 75,000 per financial year, under the scheme, for any permitted current or capital account transaction or a combination of both. Further, the following changes / clarifications in regard to the remittances under LRS will come into effect immediately :

(i). The scheme should no longer be used for acquisition of immovable property, directly or indirectly, outside India. Therefore, AD Category-I banks may henceforth not allow any remittances under the LRS Scheme for acquisition of immovable property outside India.

(ii). The scheme should not be used for making remittances for any prohibited or illegal activities such as margin trading, lottery etc., as hitherto.

(iii). Resident individuals have now been allowed to set up Joint Ventures (JV) / Wholly Owned Subsidiaries (WOS) outside India for bonafide business activities outside India within the limit of USD 75,000 with effect from August 5, 2013 and subject to the terms and conditions stipulated in Notification No.FEMA 263/RB-2013 dated August 5, 2013.

3. Further, the limit for gift in Rupees by Resident Individuals to NRI close relatives and loans in Rupees by resident individuals to NRI close relatives in terms of A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No.17 and 18 both dated September 16, 2011 shall accordingly stand modified to USD 75,000 per financial year.


Ref: RBI/2013-14/181- A. P. (DIR Series) Circular No.24 dated August 14, 2013

Reduction of limit for Overseas Direct Investment

Reduction of limit for Overseas Direct Investment

In terms of the extant provisions under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA, 1999) on overseas direct investments, the total overseas direct investment (ODI) of an Indian Party in all its Joint Ventures (JVs) and / or Wholly Owned Subsidiaries (WOSs) abroad engaged in any bonafide business activity should not exceed 400 per cent of the net worth of the Indian Party as on the date of the last audited balance sheet under the Automatic Route.

It has now been decided:

1. To reduce the existing limit of 400 per cent of the net worth of the Indian Party to 100 per cent of its net worth under the Automatic Route. Accordingly, AD Category - I banks may allow overseas direct investments under the Automatic Route up to 100 per cent of the net worth of the Indian party, as on the date of the last audited balance sheet;
2. To reduce the existing limit of 400 per cent of the net worth of the Indian company, investing in the overseas unincorporated entities in the energy and natural resources sectors, under the automatic route, to 100 per cent of the net worth of the Indian company investing in the overseas unincorporated entities in the energy and natural resources sectors, as on the date of last audited balance sheet; and
3. Any ODI in excess of 100% of the net worth shall be considered under the Approval Route by the Reserve Bank of India.

3. In respect of the Navaratna Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Oil India Ltd (OIL), the extant provision for investing in overseas unincorporated entities and the overseas incorporated entities in the oil sector (i.e., for exploration and drilling for oil and natural gas, etc.), which are duly approved by the Government of India, without any limits under the automatic route, would however continue as hitherto.

4. The above provisions shall come into effect with immediate effect and would apply to all fresh Overseas Direct Investment proposals on a prospective basis but would not apply to the existing JV/WOS set up under the extant regulations.



Ref:

RBI/2013-14/180 A. P. (DIR Series) Circular No.23 dated 14th August 2013