Direct Receipt of Import Bills / Documents - Liberalisation by RBI: Banknet India

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Direct Receipt of Import Bills / Documents - Liberalisation

Presently, banks are permitted to make remittances for imports, where the import bills / documents have been received directly by the importer from the overseas supplier and the value of import bill does not exceed USD 100,000.

With a view to liberalizing the procedure, Reserve Bank of India on 1st September 2008, enhanced the limit for direct receipt of import bills / documents to USD 300,000. Accordingly, AD Category – I banks may make remittances for imports, where the import bills / documents have been received directly by the importer from the overseas supplier and the value of import bill does not exceed USD 300,000, subject to the following conditions :

(i) The import would be subject to the prevailing Foreign Trade Policy.

(ii) The transactions are based on their commercial judgment and they are satisfied about the bonafides of the transactions.

(iii) The importer is a customer of AD Category – I bank and the customer's account is fully compliant with extant KYC / AML guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank.

(iv) AD Category - I banks should do the due diligence exercise and should be fully satisfied about the financial standing / status and track record of the importer customer.

(v) It is customary in that trade to receive import documents directly from the overseas exporter.

(vi) In case the AD Category – I bank has suspicions about the genuineness of the transaction, it should be reported through the Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) to FIU_IND (Financial Intelligence Unit in India).

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