Banks in India and their abroad branches have been permitted to lend in Indian Rupees to individuals resident in Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, facilitating cross-border commerce transactions, the Reserve Financial institution of India (RBI) stated on Monday.
The RBI stated amendments have been made to the Overseas Alternate Administration (Borrowing and Lending) Laws, 2018 and Overseas Alternate Administration (Overseas forex accounts by an individual resident in India) Laws, 2015, as a part of steady efforts in direction of ‘facilitating exterior commerce and funds’.
“AD (authorised vendor) banks in India and their abroad branches have been permitted to lend in Indian Rupees to individuals resident in Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, together with banks in these jurisdictions, to facilitate cross-border commerce transactions,” it stated.
In January 2025, the RBI permitted Indian exporters to open international forex accounts with a financial institution outdoors India for the realisation of export proceeds. Unutilised balances in these accounts are required to be repatriated by the tip of the month subsequent to the date of realisation.
“It has now been determined that the interval for repatriation shall be prolonged as much as three months, in case of international forex accounts maintained with a financial institution within the IFSC in India,” RBI stated.
An announcement on this regard was made by the central financial institution on October 1 when it unveiled the bi-monthly financial coverage.
